Konoha High
by Insert Alias
Summary: Konoha High School. Home of drunken principles, insane teachers and hormonal teenagers. Rated T for language and fluff.
1. Late

Konoha High… home of drunken principles, insane teachers, and hormonal teens. In this stories case, we will be following the stories of a certain group of teenagers just starting junior year. It is currently 7:32 a.m. on the first day of school. It's a sunny day… the birds are singing, and an overall feeling of happiness overshadows the city of Konoha…

"SHIT!!!"

Haruno Sakura jumped out of her bed. Apparently she had slept through her alarm and now had to suffer the consequences. "School starts in 30 minutes!" She muttered, running her hands through her messy hair. She ran to her dresser, almost wrenching the drawers out as she grabbed the handles. She grabbed some clothes, and ran into her bathroom.

Grabbing a hairbrush she ran it through her hair, thanking god for having thought to brush her hair before bed. Then she grabbed a toothbrush and shoved it in her mouth. She didn't have the time to really get her teeth a good cleaning, but she did her best. Then she pulled on her clothing. A pink bra and a pair of pink briefs went on, followed by a pair of skinny jeans and a loose no sleeved navy dress/shirt that stopped at her upper thigh. She fastened it with a belt and looked in the mirror.

At 16 Sakura was petite, standing around 5'3" or 5'4" and was rather skinny. Her pink hair (natural, as she had to tell most people) hung an inch or so below her shoulders and her large green eyes peered out back at her from the mirror. She bit her lip and left the bathroom. She threw some stuff into a bag, and grabbed a coat and purse. She almost jumped down the stairs, and stopped by the kitchen on her way out to grab a banana and a bagel. "Bye mom!" she yelled, slipping on a pair of red ballet flats, and slamming the door behind her.

She started walking quickly to school. Her mom had to leave for work soon, so she couldn't drive her. Now Sakura had 15 minutes to walk the 2 and a half miles to school. She shoved the bagel in her mouth as she juggled her things, pulling the jean jacket on as she walked, and shifting the bag onto her shoulder. Suddenly she heard a yell, and she turned to see her best friend, Yamanaka Ino pull up beside her in her white convertible. "Hey girlie, need a ride?" Ino asked with a smirk.

Sakura nodded with a grin, and slid into the convertible. "Hey Ino. I thought you were blowing off school this week to stay extra in Tahiti," she said, looking over at her blonde friend. Ino made a face. "Mum and dad found out and practically threw a fit, so here I am. Ino threw her hair over one shoulder and grinned again. She was a little taller then Sakura, and slightly more curvy. She had long blonde hair that she wore up in a high ponytail, tanned skin, and stunning blue eyes. Today she wore a snow-white tank top, a black mini-skirt, and white leggings. Out of Sakura's whole group of friends, Ino could actually be considered popular. She was beautiful, social, fashion conscious… and dating Sai, one of the most popular guys in school probably didn't hurt.

Ino had also used to be one of the Bee's, a group of popular girls that ruled the school. Ino had been with them since middle school, but at the beginning of sophomore year she dumped them after what she put as, 'getting an actual brain' and befriended Sakura. Popularity followed Ino though, even after her public denouncing of the Bee's and their slutty leader Karin, which made life a little easier for Sakura. At least she wasn't at the end of the High School food chain anymore.

They cruised through the streets of Sakura's neighborhood. "So Billboard Brow," Ino said, using her pet name for Sakura, "what are we going to do with this fine new year? Maybe get you a boyfriend?" she asked with a cackle.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I don't need a boyfriend Ino… besides, I am in AP Biology this year, so I really won't have time for romance."

"Oh gawd Sakura! You have only been kissed once in your life… and it was an accident!" Ino exclaimed in exasperation. "No, you really need a boyfriend. I told you you should have asked out Uchiha Sasuke last year, but 'nooo, he's to popular to date me', and now you are exactly where you were then."

Sakura blushed as Ino mention Sasuke. "He was just a crush I had. I am over him, really. Besides, I don't even know him."

"That is so not the point Sakura," Ino said as they pulled up to school. "The point is," she said turning to her as she turned the car off, "you are seriously in need of a little TLC, and if you don't give yourself any, you need someone to give you some, and I am not the one to do that," she said, stepping out of the car, grabbing her purse as she did, and glanced around. "Where the hell are Hinata and Tenten… they were supposed to meet us here," she said with a frown.

Sakura climbed out of the car as well. "They probably aren't here yet Ino," she said in a soothing voice.

"We have to get our schedules, and get to class in 2 minutes," Ino said, glaring at everyone who passed her. "So where are they?!"

"Jeez Ino, calm down," came a voice from behind them. Ino whirled around, Sakura looked up as well. Two girls stood behind them. The one who spoke was tallish, maybe 5'7" and lean. Her Brown hair was held up in two buns, and her chocolate brown eyes glittered as she chuckled. She wore an olive shirt with no sleeves and a high collar, and a pair of blue jeans. Behind stood another girl. She was a little hunched over but looked around Sakura's height. She was very curvy, and had navy hair that hung to her waist, and big white eyes. She wore a long sleeve grey shirt, and a long jean skirt. She looked at Sakura and Ino with a small smile. "H-hi Sakura… Ino," she said.

Ino blew out a sigh of relief and Sakura gave a warm smile to both of them. "Hey Hinata, Tenten," she said to them.

Tenten grinned, and reached into her black book bag she had over one shoulder. "I picked up your guys schedules and stuff," she said, handing a thick envelope to Sakura, and another to Ino. "When are your classes?"

Sakura slid open hers and looked at it.

**Haruno Sakura, Grade 11**

**Homeroom/Calculus**: Kakashi Hatake

**AP Biology: **Orochimaru

**World History, from 1200-1640: **Asuma

**English:** Shizune

**Lunch A**

**Art: **Kurenai

**Home-Ec/Gym:** Anko/Gai

She showed hers to the others. "Ooo," said Ino. "We all have the same Homeroom and Lunch periods!"

"I h-have Home Ec and Gym with you S-Sakura," Hinata said with a stutter. "Oh… and I've got English and Math with you Tenten."

"Awesome!" Tenten said. "Hey Ino, we've both got Gym, Home-Ec, and History together."

"Hmm…" Ino said trailing off as she looked at hers. "I don't have any more with you Hinata, but I also have English with you Sakura. That should be fun."

"G-girls… shouldn't we get to c-class?" Hinata asked with a stutter.

"Huh?" Ino asked, looking up and around. None of the other students were outside anymore. "Crap!!" She shrieked and they all dashed into the building.


	2. New Kids in School

**Second chapter of Konoha High.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. At all. **

**I really don't.**

----

Mr. Kakashi raised an eyebrow as the girls burst into the classroom. Ino leaned over panting, her legs feeling like they were on fire. 'I have got to get more exercise,' she thought. "S-sorry Mr. K-Kakashi," Hinata said timidly.

"Well girls, nice to see you could join us. Just take a seat will you?" he said, sounding bored. Ino slinked over to a nearby seat. It was next to another boy with red hair. 'That's weird,' she thought as she sat down, 'he wasn't here last year…'

"Now as I was saying," Mr. Kakashi said, as the other three girls sat down. "We have three new transfer students this year. Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, if you would please stand."

The boy next to Ino stood, along with another boy, and a girl. Ino looked up at them all. The red headed boy had spiky hair and blue eyes. He was tall, and had a tattoo on his forehead, and his arms were crossed over his chest. He wore black BDU's with a baggy black t-shirt, and combat boots. 'He is as emo as Sasuke…' Ino thought, looking at him.

She shifted her attention to the boy Kankuro. He also had spiky hair, but his was brown and he had black eyes. He was taller then his brother, and well muscled. He wore a pair of baggy jeans and a brown t-shirt with a black leather jacket over it. He was leering at Hinata, who was seated next to him and looked like she wanted to pass out. 'Pervert,' Ino thought, making a mental note.

Finally she looked at the girl. She was an inch or so taller then Tenten and very curvy. She had short blonde hair that was tied up into 4 pigtails, and green eyes. She glared at her brothers as she stood. She was wearing a red and black mini, with fishnets on her arms and a tight black tank top. She was sitting next to Tenten, and she looked sullen, like she didn't want to be there. 'Ah… new girl,' Ino thought. Whenever a new girl transferred there, there was normally a battle between cliques to see who could claim her first. This was the first since Ino had left the Bee's, and Ino was set on rescuing her from Karin's clutches.

"They transferred here from Suna Academy," Mr. Kakashi said, naming a prestigious High School a few cities away. Ino should have been impressed, but she was glaring at Karin who was a few seats away and who was smirking at Ino. 'That bitch,' Ino thought, fuming.

"Go ahead and sit down," Kakashi said with a sigh, and the three sat back down. "Now, today to start, we are going to have a pop quiz…" he said, a groan coming from a few of the students, particularly Naruto and Kiba, who were sitting a few seats away. Ino blanked out what Kakashi was saying though, as she scribbled a note to Tenten. When Kakashi turned around to pick up the stacks of tests, Ino threw the note at her. It missed, but Tenten saw it and picked it up, opening it under the table.

_Tenten,_

_You have got to keep that girl away from Karin. The last thing we need is another Bee._

_Ino_

Tenten looked up at Ino and scribbled something down. She tossed it at Ino and Ino grabbed it.

_Aren't you overreacting a little?_

'No! Now do it!' Ino mouthed at Tenten. She crumpled the notes in her palm as Mr. Kakashi stopped in front of her and sat a test down. She sighed, and took the time Mr. Kakashi was taking to do all this to study her neighbor. He leaned back in his chair, glaring off into space, but he glared at her when she looked at him. Ino swallowed and offered a smile. "I'm Ino," she whispered.

He continued to glare, looking at her like she was causing him a personal injury. Ino gulped and looked away.

"Alright… begin!"

45 Minutes Later…

"That was HORRIBLE!!" Ino yelled causing some people to stare at her as they passed. They were waiting outside the classroom. "I got at least half wrong! Calculus is so different from geometry."

"I-I can help you with it after school if you want Ino…" Hinata said, trailing off.

"Could we do tomorrow? I am meeting Sai after school at the mall. Hey! You girls should come! I could totally use the company," and set you up with guys, she added silently.

"Sure Ino," Sakura said cheerfully.

"Why are we waiting here again?" Tenten asked, looking bored.

"We are waiting for the new girl," Ino said. "I will not let Karin destroy another girl and make her one of her lackeys."

"Well here she comes," Sakura muttered.

Temari walked out of the classroom and looked around. Ino took that moment when she paused to step forwards. "Hey there. Your that new girl right?"

Temari looked over to Ino with raised eyebrows. "Who's asking?" she asked, automatically put on guard.

"Well, I'm Yamanaka Ino, so I guess that's who," Ino said with a smirk as she looked at Temari. She grinned. "Just wanted to welcome you to school, and invite you to eat with us. It would be a shame if you were picked up by the wrong crowd," she said, raising her voice at the last bit, and causing the Bee's who were a little ways away, to glare at her.

Temari gave a grin. It was surprisingly bright seeing as all Temari had done during class was look sullen. "Love too." She looked at Sakura, Hinata and Tenten. "Guess I should formally introduce myself, I'm Subaku No Temari."

"I'm Sakura," Sakura said with a grin. "And this is Tenten and Hinata."

The aforementioned girls greeted her and then Ino looked at her watch. "Um, girls, the next class starts soon. Oh, Temari, what do you have?"

"Um… Art," Temari said.

"Me too," Tenten said with a mischievous smile. "We'll be off then. See you girls later," she said, before she and Temari set off for the Art room.

Ino smirked over at the Bee's. "Looks like I've won this round," she said with an evil grin.

"Ino, sometimes I think your rivalry with the Bee's is a little scary…"

After School…

Uchiha Sasuke. The school heartthrob. Tall and handsome, he has black hair and black eyes. Something about his personality, reclusive and quiet, seemed to draw girls in. "Oy, Sasuke, are you listening to me?"

Sasuke turned his attention to the blonde boy besides him. Uzumaki Naruto had been his best friend since kindergarten. Hyper and rebellious, he rarely stood still, and now was doing a slight bouncing thing as he leaned on the railings of the overpass. He had blonde spiky hair that normally he had a black forehead band on, and blue eyes. "What is it dobe?" Sasuke asked.

"Dude, Sai just called and he said Ino wanted him to get us to come with them to the mall. Don't ask me why, he didn't know. So, unless you want to face the wrath of Ino, I would get going," Naruto said, looking bemused as he set off down the overpass. Sasuke sighed and walked besides him.

"I bet she wants us to carry her bags again."

At the mall…

Sasuke and Naruto were waiting by the entrance. "Oh, so you guys did show," came a voice. Sai stood there, giving them one of his famous fake smiles. Sai has very pale skin and black hair. Actually, truth be told, he resembled Sasuke.

"Yeah… so why are we even here?" Sasuke asked, bored to be in this loud hyper place.

"God you are so rude!" came an annoyed voice. Ino walked up, towing Sakura, Hinata, Tenten, and Temari, the latter who was following, glancing around curiously. Sakura saw Sasuke and automatically stiffened. Sasuke noticed this with a smirk, and saw Hinata display something similar when she saw Naruto. Only Hinata's face turned red and she tried to hide behind Tenten.

"Where is Neji?" Ino demanded, walking over to Sai.

"He was doing something already…" Sai said.

"Crap…" Ino said looking disappointed. "Well, Tenten, I have no one for you to be with here…"

"So that's what this is?!" Sakura demanded, going red.

"Whatever," said Tenten. "I wanted to show Temari around anyways. Call me later Ino," she said, before she and Temari walked off.

Sasuke was still watching Sakura with a slightly amused expression. Sakura was to busy reading Ino the riot act to notice though.

"Girls, we're here, they're here. Lets just go to the food court or something," Ino suggested, attempting to appease Sakura. She linked arms with Sai. "Follow me!" she exclaimed dramatically, before setting of for the food court.

Hinata was rooted to one spot in shock. Naruto tugged on her arm. "Hey, Hinata…"

She came to. "Eep! N-Naruto!" she said, going redder. Naruto chuckled.

"Hinata, you are so funny," he said, still laughing as he steered her off towards the food court.

Now Sakura noticed Sasuke again and blushed slightly before following Naruto and Hinata. Sasuke followed her at a distance. He had had a 'thing' for Sakura for a while. Since freshman year to be exact. Something about her upfront, cheerful personality. So unlike his. He watched her walk as they made their way to the food court.

There Ino thrust Hinata into the seat by Naruto, and sat down by Sai, leaving the only other two seats for Sakura and Sasuke, right by each other. Sakura sat down, glaring at a very smug Ino. Sasuke noticed this too, but smirked as he sat.

"So," said Ino mischievously. "How have you boys been?"

"So-so…" Naruto said. "I don't think academically I will be doing very well."

Hinata looked at Naruto timidly. "N-N-Naruto-kun… I could h-help you with it, if y-you want…" she said, stuttering as he turned her attention to her. His face lit up.

"That would be fantastic Hinata! You have some of the best grades in school! Plus your much more patient then Shizune," he said, mentioning their English teacher, who often helped students who were having trouble with their studies.

Hinata blushed again. "A-aritgato Naruto-kun," she said.

Sasuke had watched their exchange, not noticing Sakura growing more and more embarrassed as she sat by him. "Oh, Sakura! Weren't you telling me about that boy you met on vacation?" Ino asked, her eyes gleaming as she referred to the boy whom Sakura had met in Okinawa who had fallen in love with her.

Sakura froze. "B-boy Ino?"

Ino nodded. "Yeah, that one from Okinawa who fell in--"

Sakura kicked Ino under the table, and Ino sucked her cheeks in. "In what?" Naruto asked with a grin.

Sasuke watched Sakura out of the corner of his eye. "Um… he just kinda…"

"He was head over heels in love with her," Ino said, tucking her legs under her and away from Sakura's reach. Sasuke felt a wave of anger come over him as she said this, and for a brief moment, he had the wish to beat that boy into a pulp. Sakura froze again, her cheeks now completely pink.

"Well… he was just… you know… it's not like I was in love with him or anything," she said quickly with a nervous giggle.

The table was silent then until Hinata spoke up. "Um… I w-went to San Francisco this summer," she said, and immediately everyone oohed and ahhed, and Sakura threw Hinata a grateful look. That went on for a little longer, with everyone getting something to eat, Sakura began talking to Sasuke, and before she knew it, it was dark out.

"Shit…" Ino said, checking her watch. "It's 5 to 10." Sakura sat bolt upright.

"My mom is going to kill me!" she squeaked. She grabbed her things as everyone else stood as well.

"Um… it's kind of dark out to be going alone…" Ino said nervously. She had a fear of the dark, and it was pretty obvious. "Do you want to--"

"I'll walk her home," Sasuke offered. Everyone stared at him and he sighed. "Her house is more on my route then your Ino. It only makes sense." Ino nodded.

"I'll walk you home Ino," Sai offered and Ino sighed in relief, before latching onto his arm.

Hinata smiled at Ino. "T-thanks for inviting me I-Ino. It was f-fun," she said, before starting off.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto yelled, running after her. "Mind if I walk with you?"

Hinata shook her head, and Sakura shot Naruto an approving look before he left. Then she and Sasuke started walking.

It was maybe 1 or 2 miles to her house, but the next bus came in an hour, so it only made sense to walk. They went in silence for the first 10 minutes as it grew darker and darker. They soon entered the less city-like area of the city. Sakura watched the stars as they walked, and Sasuke watched her. 'She looks very peaceful,' he thought.

They walked a little while longer before Sakura turned to him. "Hey Sasuke?"

"Yeah," he answered, shifting his eyes to the sidewalk ahead of them.

"I've always wondered… but don't all those fangirls bother you?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah."

"So… why don't you do anything about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… couldn't you just… scare them off or something?"

"Might work," he said, smirking. "Of course, some girls like that sort of thing." He looked down at her.

"What? Scary guys?"

"Something like that."

They walked in silence a little longer. It wasn't a strained silence. If anything it was relaxing. They stopped as they reached her house. "Well…" she said, smiling up at him. "Thanks for walking me here." She went to her door and turned and waved at him.

Sasuke started down the street again. His house was maybe a few blocks away, and he had that pink haired girl on his mind.


	3. To Bitchy Too Care

Temari didn't want to go to Konoha. She felt like it was her father's fault for moving his main office there from Suna… and it really was. She had been born and raised in Suna. She had never been to Konoha before. It was not like she had any friends. Her brother Gaara scared off everyone when he was younger, and now when he had finally adjusted, no one trusted him. Of course, she had never had a boyfriend either. Well, technically she had lots of boyfriends, but 1 week was the max they stayed with her. Either Gaara scared them off, she did, Gaara found out, or a combination.

But now she found Konoha to not be as bad as she thought it would be. No one here knew about her formerly psychotic brother. No one here knew she had scared off 7 boyfriends. And even if she was, as she put it, 'to bitchy to care about my social life', she had found a group of girls that seemed to not care. And it was kind of a relief, because Temari wasn't as cold hearted as she thought she was.

Now she and Tenten were walking through a park in Konoha. Tenten had ditched her friends and was showing her around. Temari was glad she had worn her black knee high boots today, instead of her black platforms; she was doing a lot of walking today. Tenten sat down on a bench and patted the seat next to her, so Temari sat down. "So, how you enjoying Konoha?" Tenten asked with a grin.

"Meh… still missing Suna."

"I'd imagine so. I wasn't born here either. I was born in Beijing," Tenten said, leaning back with a sigh.

"Really?" Temari said with interest.

"Yep. Moved here when I was 13 or so. I've been here for 3 years and I still miss China. But I love Konoha." Tenten adjusted where she was sitting. "Ok, Temari, the reason we are here is because I wanted to show you some of the fine people in our school. Technically, the main cliques. They come here after school every once in a while, and I forgot to show you at school," she said, rolling her eyes. "Now you already saw Sai and Sasuke. They are two of the most popular boys in school. The other is Neji Hyuga, but I doubt we'll see him here.

"Anyway I wanted to show you, because if Ino finds out you don't know anything about it, she will put you through the proverbial boot camp… so the main cliques are as follows; the popular guys, the jocks, the cheerleaders, the Goths, the punks, the drama geeks, the bookies, the perverts, though no one likes to talk about them, and the Bee's."

"Wait, Bee's?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's their nickname. Their pretty much Queen Bees. They rule the school, or so they think. Ino used to be one," she said, sticking her tongue out. "She ditched them though. That's not the point though. The point is to give you an example of people from each clique. Now we don't count, unless we are the exclusive Haruno Sakura clique, or the Yamanaka Ino clique, but whatever. So Sasuke, Neji and Sai are the most popular guys in school. Naruto is popular too, but he is too rebellious. So you can get what makes a guy popular. Now, to find a popular girl, imagine Ino, but with a higher dose of bitch.

"The rest are easy to figure. Drama Geeks are actors, Jocks and Cheerleaders are… jocks and cheerleaders, so that guy," she said, pointing to a guy with a black bowl hair cut. "That's Lee. He is a jock. One of the sweetest guys I've ever met, but a little… eccentric. Then the Goths and punks are just that, and the bookies are the AP students. Or the studious ones. Like Sakura and Hinata. Oh, and the perverts."

"What are you then?" Temari asked with an amused expression.

"I don't really know. I guess I am kind of like Naruto. Almost everyone in school is in a clique. Almost being 98 percent or something."

"Who else isn't?"

"That guy isn't," she said, pointing to a guy in a trench coat with black glasses. He was looking over this oversized bug. "That's Shino. He is… um, well I don't really know. I don't know what your brothers will be."

"Kankuro will probably be adopted by his fellow perverts," Temari said with a chuckle. "Gaara might end up with fan girls here, now that he is over his psychopathic phase. God that would be creepy."

Tenten started giggling and grinned at Temari. "Interesting family you have. Oh." She pointed to two more guys. "That's Choji and Shikamaru. They aren't in any clique either. Choji loves food, and Shikamaru is too lazy to be in a clique…"

'_Oh my god,'_ Temari thought, staring at Shikamaru. He had dark hair that stuck straight up like a pineapple, and dark eyes. He was probably taller then her, but he was lying on the ground so she couldn't tell. He was pretty cute too. Plus she had a thing for lazy guys. _'Shit! I am not going to do this!' _she thought in horror._ 'I haven't even met the guy… the really hot guy… shit!'_

She turned to look back at Tenten, to find Tenten watching her with a smirk. "Enjoying the view Temari?" she asked.

Temari gave her a sheepish look.

"Whatever, don't get all upset about it. Shikamaru may be a sexist lazyass, but he's a pretty good guy… and really smart."

Temari gave her a look. "What do you mean by sexist?"

"He thinks all women are troublesome."

"Humph, we are not troublesome. Unless we're trying to be," she said with a mischievous grin. Tenten giggled.

"You should tell him that."

"Maybe I will."

Suddenly Tenten sat up straight. "Temari! How does my hair look?"

Temari looked over at her with a bewildered expression. "Um… fine, why?"

Tenten leaned back as a boy walked up. "Hey Tenten, I thought you were with Ino… she's not here is she? I told Sai I was at home and I really don't want to have to deal with Ino," he said, sounding like it was a bother to even talk about Ino. He seemed to radiate a feeling of annoyance and coolness.

Temari looked up at him. He had long brown hair he had tied back, and eyes like Hinata. He was tall too, and muscular enough. _'Why are all the boys here so tall?'_ she thought. He was wearing a black turtleneck and jeans, that fit him quite well.

"Well, because you didn't show I decided to show Temari around instead," Tenten said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

He turned his attention to her. "Oh, your one of the new students."

"Temari, this is Hyuga Neji."

'_So this is Neji,'_ Temari thought, as she nodded to him. _'I wonder…'_ "Um, hi,"

"Hn," was all he said, before walking off.

"You have a thing for him don't you?" Temari asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Um…"

"Damn, that bad?"

"Neji has been my science partner since I started high school, and has been my gym partner for the same amount of time. I'm pretty sure Principle Tsunade thinks it's funny to pair us together. Anyways, yeah, I have a 'thing' for him," she said, looking like she wanted to punch something.

"Hey calm down. It's cute."

"Cute? Is that right? Oh, well look who is coming over… Hey Choji!" She said, directing the last part to Choji, who walked towards them with Shikamaru following behind him. _'Fuck.'_

"Hey Tenten. Your that new girl right?" Choji asked. "I'm Choji." He smiled at her and stuck out a beefy hand. It was really hard not to like Choji upon meeting him, and Temari already liked him. She shook his hand, looking anywhere but Shikamaru.

"Hey Shikamaru," said Tenten, grinning at Temari evily. _'Oh no… shit…'_ "This is Temari."

Shikamaru looked at her, and Temari had no choice but to look at him. _'Wow his eyes are brown.'_ "Hi," she said.

"Hi, I'm Shikamaru."

'_Goddammit!'_

The Following Day…

Uzumaki Naruto has had a crush on Haruno Sakura since he was 8. He partially gave up when it was clear she and Sasuke had mutual hots for each other, but teased her mercilessly. He was always going to be waiting for her…

Was, that is.

Naruto let his head lay on his folded arms. It was just before homeroom was to start, and he had gotten no sleep as he worked through his homework. That was probably all wrong. _'Good thing Hinata is going to help me with that…'_ he thought with a grin. He would be eternally grateful to Hinata for saving him from the clutches up summer school.

15 minutes later Mr. Kakashi finally arrived. Naruto had dozed off, but woke suddenly while Kakashi started going on about how he had gotten lost down the path of life, or something. He sighed and grabbed his math book. "Let's go to chapter one please," Kakashi said, sounding equally as tired as Naruto. "Read it and do the problems," he said, before sitting down and pretending to read. Like they couldn't hear him snoring.

Naruto looked down and began to sweat. He could not understand any of this. '_Godammit…'_ he thought. He scribbled something down on a piece of paper and threw it at Hinata. It hit her on the head, and she squeaked and slammed her book shut. She looked around nervously, as Kankuro stared at her, before realizing it had been a note. She picked it out of her hair, where it had gotten stuck, and opened it.

_**Hinata, I can't understand any of this. Can we start tutoring tonight?**_

She turned to look at him and smiled as she gave a timid nod. "Jeez, everything she does is timid," he muttered, looking down at his book. Kiba, who was seated next to him, snorted. "You got that right," he whispered to Naruto. "Kinda hot… in a weird way," Kiba continued while he regarded Hinata. Naruto felt a twitch of annoyance as Kiba continued, but blocked him out as he concentrated on understanding what the book was saying.

34 Minutes Later…

Naruto was walking through the halls, ambling towards his art class, when Hinata came up to him. "Um… N-Naruto-kun. I was just wondering when you wanted to come over this evening?"

"Oh, Hinata. Um… would 4 work?" he asked.

She nodded. "Alright… I-I'll see you at 4 then, N-Naruto-kun."

He watched her walk out with a confused look on his face. It escaped him why she acted like she did when she was around him. Always blushing and stuttering. He rubbed the back of his head as he continued walking.

3:57 p.m. That Evening…

Hinata fluttered by the front door to her family's enormous house. She was glad Neji and Hiashi weren't home yet. Neji hated Naruto, and Hiashi would automatically jump to the worst conclusion. She played with her hair nervously as she waited. Her younger sister Hanabi was watching her from her perch on the banister. "Hinata, why are you so nervous all of the sudden?" Hanabi asked, cocking her head to one side.

The doorbell rung and Hinata squeaked, and motioned to her sister. "H-Hanabi… could you stay in the living room?" Hanabi sighed and nodded, before trudging into their living room. Hinata took a deep breath and opened the door. Naruto stood there with a grin on his face. "Hey Hinata," he said, walking in past the red faced Hinata.

'_N-N-Naruto's in my… h-house,'_ she thought. "K-k-k-konichiwa, N-N-Naruto-kun," she said. She closed the door behind him, and kept taking deep breaths to calm herself down. "Um, do y-you want to c-come up to my r-room to s-study?" she asked, pushing her fingers together in front of her. Naruto looked at her strangely for a sec before grinning again.

"Yeah, sure," he said, starting up the stairs. Hinata followed him, growing even redder and inwardly cursing her inability to stop stuttering. She lead him into her room, and he looked around when he walked in. It was big, but simply furnished. She had a queen-sized bed across from the door, and a balcony that looked over the front yard. She also had a few bookcases, and a desk on one wall, and a day bed on the other. Most of the room was lavender colored with navy or white. Hinata sat down on the floor next to a few piles of books she had put there earlier.

"S-so N-Naruto-kun, I though w-we could go over some m-math first…" she said, pulling a book of calculus out from the pile. He sighed and sat down. "First… w-what part of it are y-you having trouble with?" she asked, opening the book and flipping through it.

"What do you mean which 'part'. It's pretty much all of it."

Hinata looked up and him, and smiled a little. "O-Ok then… l-lets get started then, shall w-we?"

A few hours later Hinata was clearing her books away. They had tackled some theory, and most of the homework that day, and Naruto had insisted his brain was melting with all the studying. Naruto looked back at her as he was walking out. "Oh, hey, Hinata. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me, Sai, Sakura and Ino out to ramen tonight."

Hinata froze. _'Is he asking me out…?'_

"Strictly friends, of course."

She bit her lower lip. "A-actually, N-Naruto-kun, I think my dad is e-expecting me. I-I'm sorry…"

He laughed. "It's fine. Thanks for all the help. Can I come back on Friday?"

She nodded. "S-sure, N-Naruto-kun."

"'Kay, bye," he said, before leaving. She sighed.

"Bye… N-Naruto-kun…"


	4. Nightmares and Swimming Pools

Sakura sat up in bed, with a look of horror plastered onto her face. She had been dreaming about Uchiha Sasuke. They had been walking together, and she turned to him just to see him disappear. She was alone in the dark. Then something grabbed her from behind. Sakura shook her head to clear the image from it, and slid out of bed. It was about 4 in the morning, but she couldn't go back to sleep yet.

She grabbed her glass of water and cell phone, and went over to her window seat. Her mom was out like a light and her dad was still on his business trip so she could make as much noise as she wanted. She sipped her water, while glancing around at her room nervously. He room was themed in pinks and greens. Her walls were a light pink, and she had bamboo wood floors. Her bed sheets and comforter were a pastel green, as were her curtains. It was so cheerful. Not fitting for the way she felt now. She flipped open her pink cell phone and dialed the first number she thought of.

Ino picked up on the 5th ring with an annoyed, "Who the hell is this?"

"Hey Ino, it's me Sakura. I'm sorry for calling so late, but I needed to talk to someone."

Ino's tone immediately changed. "Omigod. Sakura, I'm so sorry. Is something wrong."

Sakura gave her a lowdown on the dream and the line was silent for a while. "That sounds creepy," Ino said, and Sakura could imagine her shivering.

"Creepy isn't the point. The point is it felt so real," Sakura said, curling her legs up underneath her.

"Do you think it's prophetic?" Ino asked.

"I dunno… maybe I'm just freaking out over a little thing…"

"Sounds like it really disturbed you. Want me to come over?"

Sakura snorted. "Aren't your parents mad at you enough already?"

"Psshhh, you're my best friend. The parental units can just suck it."

Sakura giggled. "Thanks Ino, night."

"Night."

Sakura hung up feeling much better. She leaned her head against her windowpane, looking out on the dark streets below. She felt her eyelids drift close and she drifted off…

Sakura opened her eyes 3 hours later and blinked as the sunlight poured through her window. She had fallen asleep in her window seat, and she rubbed her neck as she sat up. "Ugh…" she muttered as she stood up, walking over to her closet. She grabbed a pleated green floor length skirt, and a pink halter, before walking into her bathroom. She climbed into the shower after stripping down and turned on the water. She sighed as she stood under it, letting it release some of the tension stored in her neck and shoulders. She grabbed her strawberry scented shampoo and rubbed some of it into her hair, before rinsing it out, and doing the same with her conditioner.

After scrubbing herself and shaving, she climbed out of the shower and toweled herself off. She got dressed, and bushed her hair and teeth. She couldn't do much to get rid of the bags under her eyes, so she just sighed and walked back into her bedroom. She grabbed her bag and went downstairs. Her mother was waiting for her. "Sweetie, you look horrible," she said, pushing a toasted bagel and an orange towards her. Sakura gave her mom a forced smile and picked up the orange.

"I'm fine mom… really."

Ino picked Sakura up again and they rode to school in silence. As they arrived Ino finally spoke. "Have you been thinking about that dream?"

Sakura looked at her and bit her lower lip. "A little bit. It's just a dream though," she said with a nervous giggle.

Ino stared at her friend and shook her head. "Sakura… Sakura… Sakura…" she muttered with a sigh.

The two friends got out of the car, and were met up with Hinata, Tenten and Temari on the way in. Ino was nervously going over her math homework with Hinata, and Tenten and Temari were talking about Temari joining some sports team.

"Hey Sakura," said Tenten. "Do you think the gym is done with its renovations? It would be awesome to start up gym and the sports teams again. Even if that would mean Home Ec would be back on…"

She and Sakura shuddered, thinking of their sociopathic Home Ec teacher, Anko. _'Not one you would imagine teaching about cooking, and sewing and crap like that,'_ Sakura thought. "Well… I think they are supposed to open it next week," she said. "I guess everything will be back on by then," she said with a smile.

Tenten grinned. "Thank god. I am so tired of being out of the sports loop. I am so ready to kick some ass."

Ino looked over at Tenten as she said that. "Well I am not… I hate gym. They never let us to fun stuff, like work on the treadmill or something. When I work out, I want to be doing stuff like that, or yoga or something. Not volleyball," she said with a shudder as they entered the math classroom. Mr. Kakashi wasn't there yet, so they stayed near the door to chat.

Tenten rolled her eyes as Ino said this and Sakura giggled. "What about you Hinata?" Temari asked the girl, with a mischievous grin.

"Oh… um… w-well… I like s-swimming," she said quietly with a smile. "I've always l-liked the w-water."

"Really?" came a voice from behind them. Hinata turned around and saw Kiba smirking at Hinata. Hinata gave him a small smile. "Oh, hi K-Kiba-kun," she said.

Tenten poked Temari in the side, and both snickering, they went over to their seats, while Ino and Sakura faded off as well. Hinata stared after her friends before turning back to Kiba. "A-actually, I do really love swimming," she said.

"Huh. Cool. In that case, want to come with me to the Kireimizu po-"

"Did you say Kireimizu?!" Ino asked, jumping back towards Hinata and Kiba, and leaving Sakura there to stare at the ceiling in exasperation.

"Um… yeah. The outdoor pool is closing this week until next spring."

Ino elbowed Hinata in the side hard. "We are so going. Tenten, Temari, Sakura, Kireimizu pool, this evening, 5 o'clock!" she yelled with glee, envisioning the high class, outdoor pool. She bounded back towards Sakura with Hinata in tow, while Kiba blinked several times, attempting to figure out exactly what just happened.

"Shit Ino… you are dense. He was trying to ask Hinata out," Sakura snapped. Ino blinked and then leered at Hinata.

"Oh ree-ally?" she said, while Hinata turned brick red.

"And you say you're the one with all the social skills..."

After school they all had plans for Ino to pick them all up at 4:30, so Tenten was ready by 4:20. She lived closest to Ino, so she was first to be picked up which also meant she could get shotgun before Sakura. She had her tight black speedo on under a pair of cut-off's and a sweatshirt. She sat on the back of her couch as she waited, listening to her little brother and sister watching some mindless T.V. show behind her.

"Tenten, where are you going again?" her little brother Ichi asked. Tenten looked back at him with a chuckle.

"I'm just going out with the girls. I'll be back with enough time to help you through some of your homework. You could just ask mom though."

He shook his head quickly. "Nooo. She gets really impatient."

Tenten giggled. "You've got a point." She heard Ino honking outside, and she grabbed her bag. "See you guys later. If I'm not home by 8, ask mom to help," she said, before running outside. She vaulted over the car door into the front seat, while dumping her bag in behind her. "Hey Ino," she said with a grin.

Ino grinned back. "Heya Tenten," she said, pulling out. Ino switched on her music and the first song to come on was 'Never Underestimate a Girl. Tenten groaned.

"Ino, couldn't we listen to some Queen, or Motorhead."

Ino made a face. "Ew, no. Driver picks. Seeing as I am the one ferrying everyone around, I get to pick the music." Tenten rolled her eyes.

Ino grinned. "But you have to agree with the song."

"What do you mean?"

"You _should_ never underestimate a girl."

Tenten started giggling again, and kept giggling as Hinata climbed in. "H-hey Ino… Tenten," Hinata said.

Ino looked back at Hinata with a big grin. "So… did you actually bring a cute swimsuit this time?"

Hinata blushed. "I brought my blue one…"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Hinata, you are the only one of us who is too embarrassed to show yourself off. You've got to get over that."

"M-maybe Temari is too…"

Ino let out a huge laugh. "Are you kidding?"

"N-not really."

After picking up Sakura and Temari they finally arrived at the pool. "Kiba must already be inside. We'll leave you and him alone," said Ino to Hinata with a wink.

"I-Ino… I don't think Kiba m-meant it like t-that…" Hinata said, her face turning red again. Temari gave Hinata a push towards the locker room.

"Of course he did," she said with a laugh.

They got changed and went outside. It was still warm enough at 5 to stay in your swimsuits comfortably, so almost all of the girls had taken advantage of it. Sakura was wearing a pink tankini, with cherry blossom designs. Ino had taken advantage of her tan to wear a snow-white bikini, and she and Sakura jumped into the pool without a second thought. Hinata was wearing a big blue swimsuit, giving her coverage of everything. Tenten's was similar, but hers was backless and left a little less to imagination. Meanwhile Temari was in a red Bikini with lavender lining. She and Tenten coaxed Hinata to the edge of the pool, and pulled her in.

"Why are you so nervous, Hinata?" asked Tenten. "It's not like Naruto's here."

"Did someone call me?"

Hinata gasped and ducked under the water while Temari hit Tenten on the head. "Great! You jinxed it!"

Naruto swam over. "What's wrong?"

"What are you doing here?" Ino asked, swimming over.

Naruto looked confused. "Um, Kiba invited me and a few others. Why is Hinata hiding?"

Tenten dove under and pulled Hinata back up. "Um… h-h-h-hi… N-Naruto-kun," she said. Tenten rolled her eyes and steered Hinata away.

"Hinata… your going to get over this thing you have about Naruto one way or another. It's painful to watch you try to talk to him," Tenten said, looking Hinata squarely in the eye.

Hinata stared at the water. "Sorry…"

"And stop apologizing when you don't do anything! It's not like it's your fault you act the way you do," Tenten said. She floated on her back, her head pointed towards Hinata. "But you really have to get over this."

Hinata nodded. "I-I will…"

Tenten grinned. "Yay!" she said as she started to paddle towards the middle of the pool.

"Um Tenten… watch where you're going!"

Tenten bumped into something soft, and something grabbed her shoulders. She yelped and automatically shoved her arm back to connect with whoever had grabbed her. "Ow… what the hell was that for?"

She felt winded as she recognized the voice, and sat up suddenly. "Oh, um, Neji… sorry," she said, turning around to face Neji, who was watching her with one eyebrow raised.

"Defensive reflex, I assume?" he asked with a smirk.

She grimaced. "Something like that. I mean, what if you were a serial killer?"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever, just watch where you're going."

He swam off and Tenten sighed, and sunk under the water slowly.

'_That went well…'_


	5. Oh Brother

**Finally remembered to put another Disclaimer on.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Rebel Girl, Ten Days That Shook The World, or Don't Fuck With Me attitudes.**

**Also, I will probably be posting updates every Wednesday and Friday, with a few on the weekends and in the rest of the week.**

**Enjoy!**

**-----**

Women were troublesome. That was the guiding rule in Nara Shikamaru's life. They manipulated you to do what they wanted, and never really told you what they meant. It was a headache just to be around them. Of course, most of the girls at Konoha High fit the description above, which meant Shikamaru just tried to stay out of their way. That new girl, Temari, seemed to throw him off a little.

She wasn't the first person with her Don't Fuck With Me attitude, that he had ever met, but she seemed a little different. He had only met her a few times, but he definitely confused him more then most girls did, and that was certainly saying something.

Shikamaru was dozing off in his History class when he felt something hit his head. He looked up to see Asuma glaring at him, and the girl next to him giving him a look. That was another thing about girls that was troublesome. They went around giving you all these looks that no one in their right mind to figure out.

"Yeah?" he said, scratching his head as he sat up. Asuma just sighed and turned back to the blackboard. Most of the teachers had given up trying to sort him out. He looked down at his history book, which he had been napping on. It was opened to page 53, and it was detailing the many defining aspects of the dark ages. He sighed and began to read.

After class he caught up with Choji outside. "Hey Shikamaru," Choji said, through a mouthful of potato chips.

"Hey Choji."

"I think Ino was looking for you," he said, as they began to walk down the halls towards the cafeteria. Shikamaru groaned.

"Great."

It was no surprise then, that when he entered the caf Ino was waiting to pounce. "Shikamaru," she said, stepping in front of him. He just looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "I'm throwing a back to school party and was wondering if you would like to come?" _'So you and Temari can get together,'_ she thought.

He just looked at her.

"Well?" she asked. She was looking at him in a way that dared him to say no. _'Troublesome,'_ he thought.

"Alright… fine, when is it?" he asked with a sigh.

She clapped her hands together. "It's Saturday, at 6. My house. Hey, Neji!" she said, before dashing off to go see Neji.

Shikamaru groaned as he sat down. There went his Saturday. "So did she ask you?" Choji asked.

Shikamaru turned to glare at Choji. "You knew and you didn't warn me?"

Choji shrugged. "Didn't think to."

"Thanks a lot Choji…"

After school…

Temari threw Gaara a look as they drove home. She had driven them there and now she was taking him home, but she wished she could've made him walk. He had almost broken the wrist of a guy that asked her out earlier. Gaara just stared at the windshield though, completely impassive.

Temari knew her younger (by a few months, but still) brother was protective, but he was really getting on her nerves lately. I mean she was one of the only girls in her grade who had never been able to hold onto a boyfriend for longer then 2 weeks. She could count the number of days most of them stayed with her on one hand. Of course, part of it was her fault, but most of it was Gaara's.

Kankuro was sitting in the backseat chuckling over the incident. Temari finally turned around and screamed, "SHUT UP KANKURO!!"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh get over it Temari. It's not like you were actually going to go out with him."

"That's not the point!"

"Then what is the point?"

"Oh, I so don't want to talk about this," she hissed.

She pulled up to their house and stomped in. They lived in a big mansion, but it was rather unfriendly looking. She muttered to herself about meddlesome brothers as she stomped upstairs, banging into her room. It was huge, with a balcony and a big closet. Of course, most of her stuff wasn't unpacked yet.

She dropped her stuff on top of a box labeled, 'Books, H-L', and dropped onto her bed with a sigh. Her cell phone suddenly started blaring out, 'Rebel Girl' and Temari snatched it up. "This is Subaku No Temari," she snarled into the speaker. "If this is not anyone I know, hang up know or suffer a painful death."

"Um Temari, it's me, Sakura."

"Oh… hi Sakura. Sorry about that."

"It's fine. Ino just wanted me to tell you she is throwing a party this Saturday and that she wants you to come."

"Oh sure."

"Ok. It's at six, but you can come early if you want."

"'Kay… bye…" she said, before hanging up. She wished she had someplace to go tonight to get her mind off her brother. Last night at the pool had been fun, but now she had homework and unpacking.

"Joy…"

That Evening…

Sakura sat in the city library. It was the closest one to her house, and she spent many evenings there doing homework and finding new books to read. She had been finishing her Biology homework when a copy of, 'Ten Days That Shook The World' sidetracked her, and now, 2 hours later, she was still reading it. "This is amazing," she muttered.

She was in the room where most of the students went to study. She was the only left, when the door opened. She jumped and looked up, startled. There stood Uchiha Sasuke, who was watching her with raised eyebrows. She gave him a faint blush, and tried to resume her reading, her cheeks lightly tinted pink.

He glanced over her shoulder to see what she was reading as he went to sit his stuff down. He did a double take when he saw the title. _'Cute, funny, and good taste,'_ he thought with amusement. She felt him look over her shoulders but tried to ignore him and continue reading.

After getting stuck reading a paragraph over and over she shut the book, put it in the pile of books she was checking out, and started working on her homework again. She had tried working at home, but her older brother was staying there for an extra month because his college was undergoing some redesigns, and she couldn't study with him and his friends around making out of color jokes.

She glanced up when she thought Sasuke wasn't looking, but instead she found him watching her. She swallowed nervously. "S-something wrong?" she asked politely. _'I'm starting to sound like Hinata…'_ she thought.

"No."

She looked back down when she remembered something Ino had asked her to do. "Oh… um, Sasuke?"

He looked up at her from his book.

"Um… Ino asked me to ask you if you wanted to come to her 'Back to School' party this Saturday. It's at 6, so if you want to come… yeah," she said, trailing off at the end. They just looked at each other for a minute and then he nodded.

"Ok."

She blushed and looked back down at her book.

"Hey Sakura, wh--" Sasuke started to say when the door opened again. They both jumped— well, Sakura jumped and Sasuke just looked annoyed. It was Sakura's brother, Okako. He sighed.

"Finally I found you," he said to Sakura. "Don't you ever answer your cell phone?"

"I turn it off when I come to the library. What is it?"

"Mom says you should come home."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let me get my things," she said, shoving her biology book and homework into her book bag, and grabbing the books to check out. Okako looked at Sasuke.

"Your boyfriend?" he asked Sakura with a smirk.

Sakura choked. She knew he was joking, but that was not something she wanted him to say in front of Sasuke. "N-no," she said, coughing. "This is Uchiha Sasuke," she said to her brother. "He's one of my year mates. Now come on, lets go."

"Yo," Okako said. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to be related to Uchiha Mandara would you?"

"I am. I'm his nephew."

"Cool." Sakura blew out a puff of air.

"Okako, lets just go," she said, glaring at him. He smirked at her again and walked out, followed by Sakura who was trying not to make eye contact with Sasuke.

'_Oh brother…'_


	6. Dinner Dates

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, no matter how much I would like too.**

**No tires, flat or otherwise, were harmed in the making of this FanFic**

Hinata was up in her room, going over her history notes. Naruto was supposed to come over that evening for their study session, but it was 5:24 so she supposed he had forgotten to tell her he couldn't come or something.

She went downstairs for some more Tab when she heard the doorbell ring. She opened it to find Naruto there, looking apologetic. "Oh… N-Naruto-kun," she said, stepping aside to let him come in.

"Sorry for being so late Hinata-chan. My car got a flat so I had to change it before I could go anywhere," he said. Hinata heard what he said up until the 'chan' comment, and that's when her head started spinning.

"Hey, Hinata, you ok?" he asked.

She nodded quickly. "Y-yes… why don't w-we just go upstairs and g-get started?" she asked as she started to go back up, the idea of grabbing a Tab completely forgotten. Naruto followed her up, and she walked into her room, sitting down on the floor. "O-ok… why don't w-we start by g-going over the h-homework…

An hour or two later…

"So, can y-you do the l-last bit by y-yourself?" she asked him, straightening the stack of papers besides her. He nodded with a grin.

"Sure thing, Hinata-chan." He stood, grabbing her hand to pull her up with him. "Ok, Hinata, really. I want to pay you back for this, so come to dinner with me," he said. She went bright red.

"Um… I-I don't k-know if I c-can…" she stuttered, nervous to be so close to him.

"Oh come on. It'll be fine," he said with another grin.

She bit her lip before nodding timidly. "A-alright… just let m-me get my b-bag…" she said, going over to her desk. She grabbed her purse and the coat she had been wearing earlier and went back over towards him. They both walked downstairs, only pausing to let Hinata yell, "H-Hanabi! I am g-going out. Tell F-Father I'll be b-back later."

At the restaurant…

Naruto had picked Ichiraku Ramen to go too. No surprise to Hinata. She did like ramen, as he had found out when he checked with her when they arrived. They walked in and got seats at the front. Hinata had a blush plastered on her face during the first 10 minutes or so, but after a little while it got easier to talk to him, and soon she was laughing with him.

Their ramen arrived after a little while, and Hinata dug in. She had gotten a Miso Special and was slowly savoring it. Naruto on the other hand ate it like he hadn't eaten anything for days.

"Hey Hinata, can I ask you something?"

Hinata looked over at him with a smile. "Of course, N-Naruto-kun."

"It's about Sakura. I was just wondering… well has she ever mentioned maybe being interested in me?"

Hinata choked. Whatever she had expected him to ask, that was not it. "U-um… I d-don't really k-know, N-N-Naruto-kun… I don't t-think so…"

He looked disappointed. He wasn't the only one though, Hinata felt like crying. So he wasn't interested in her in the least bit. Suddenly the ramen she was eating didn't taste so good.

"Naruto, what the hell are you doing with my cousin?" came a voice from behind them. Naruto and Hinata froze.

"N-Neji-sempai," Hinata whispered.

Naruto turned around nervously. Neji stood there, staring at him in rage. "Ahhh… Neji… hey," Naruto said with a fake chuckle, raising his hand.

"Are you deaf? I asked you what the hell you're doing with Hinata."

Nearby…

Tenten was at the gym, using the treadmill. Because the sports teams were off for a week or so she was using a high speed and incline setting on the treadmill to get her exercise. "Do your thing, on the runway. Work, supermodel, you better work it girl, of the world, wet your lips, and smile to the camera. Work, turn to the left, work, now turn to the right," blared on her iPod. Normally she wouldn't be caught listening to anything like it, but it was part of her workout playlist that kept her going when her legs felt like falling off.

She turned off the iPod and the treadmill and jumped off, gulping down air like she had been suffocating. She walked to the lockeroom and jumped into the showers in there. 10 minutes later she was done, and after another 5 she was leaving the gym. "Shit, I'm friggen' hungry," she muttered. She saw Ichiraku's and licked her lips. She strolled towards it, and walked in.

"Are you deaf? I asked you what the hell you're doing with Hinata."

Tenten gasped. She looked between Neji, Naruto and Hinata, the latter looking like she was going to pass out. Tenten shifted the bag on her shoulders, and Hinata saw her. Hinata's eyes were practically screaming, "Help me!"

Tenten moved forwards. "Um, Neji, is everything alrig-" she cut off what she was saying and backed away from him as turned and glared at her. She gave a nervous laugh, glancing around. "Um, ok… we should all just cool down," she said. _'God damn it! Ino is the one who should be doing this, not me!"_

"Oh I'll cool down, after Naruto is on the floor, drowning in a pool of his own vomit," Neji snapped. Tenten wrinkled her nose as the image that gave her, but ignored it.

"Um, how about before?" she asked, tilting her head to one side with a nervous smile.

"How about not?" Neji said, his voice rising into a crude imitation of hers. Tenten growled in her throat. Neji ignored her though and started towards Naruto, who now stood in a position slightly in front of Hinata, his arms crossed over his chest and an impassive look on his face. Tenten bit her lip and reached out, grabbing Neji's arm, and she pulled it towards herself. Neji stopped and turned to look at Tenten.

'_I'm going to regret this later,'_ she thought, and she reached her fist back, and thrust it into his stomach. Neji doubled over and Hinata squeaked. Tenten grabbed Neji and steered him out.

"What the fuck, Tenten?!" Neji asked, after he gulped down some air.

Tenten bit her lip again. "I'm sorry, but you were going to get yourself in a bad mess, and I don't think Mr. Ichiraku would have been that happy about it."

Neji jerked himself out of her grip and started to move back inside. "Don't make me hit you lower," Tenten warned.

"I am not going to attack him. I just need to tell him something. Come with me if you don't trust me."

Tenten followed him back in. Neji glared at Naruto. "Go near my cousin again, and I will fuck you up. Come on Hinata," he said before leaving. Hinata gulped and went out after Neji, not looking at Naruto. Tenten sighed as Mr. Ichiraku begin ushering out customers, and she walked out to get back home.

"I never even got my stinkin' ramen…" she muttered.

At The Hyuga Mansion…

"What were you thinking Hinata?" Neji yelled as they got inside. Hinata pushed her fingers together in front of her.

"U-um… w-well… N-Naruto-kun had i-invited me o-out for some r-ramen… as f-friends," she said, her voice getting smaller and smaller.

Neji growled. "Hinata, Naruto is not someone you should be hanging out with. Do you even know anything about the rivalry about his families company and ours?"

Hinata nodded. "I-I thought… w-well… I mean, h-he's just in H-high school. It's n-not like h-he was put up to anything. H-his U-uncle is in c-charge of the c-company, and N-Naruto won't i-inherit it for a while… s-so…"

"Just, don't go near him again, ok?" Neji asked, rubbing his forehead. Hinata gave a tiny nod and went upstairs. She grabbed her phone. "S-Sakura…" she mumbled into it. "I made a r-really big mistake," she said, her eyes filling up with tears.


	7. Partaay pt 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Red Bull, Forbidden Fruit, Shut Up and Drive, Ten Days That Shook The World, Never Underestimate a Girl, Evacuate The Dance Floor, Hips Don't Lie, Sprite or Mountain Dew.**

**No coffee mugs were harmed in the making of this FanFic**

----

"Are you fucking insane?" Ino yelled. It was at her house around 2 a.m. The whole group had flocked there after what happened with Hinata and Neji. Hinata was hugging her knees, and Sakura, Ino, Tenten and Temari sat around her.

"Ino!" Sakura said.

"Hinata, you cannot give up! Love waits for no one!" Ino screamed again.

"B-but… N-Naruto could g-get in r-real trouble," Hinata squeaked.

"That's a danger in every relationship," Ino said. "I mean look at me and Sai. We are both so different, and dad isn't much of a fan of Sai, but we don't let that stop us!"

Tenten rolled her eyes and popped some more popcorn in her mouth. "Ino, there is a bit of a difference between Hinata and you. No offense Hinata."

"D-don't worry about it."

Temari tapped her chin with her index finger. "Well… Neji doesn't know about you tutoring Naruto, and he is away most evenings when you would help Naruto… sooo…"

"I see where you are going," said Sakura. "Hinata," she said to Hinata. "That's a way you can appease Neji without having to stop seeing Naruto. I mean, what Neji doesn't know won't hurt him."

"But it might hurt N-Naruto," Hinata mumbled.

Tenten shook her head. "If you want, I can help with that part. Neji wouldn't dare do anything to me, so I can stick around when you're with Naruto."

"Then it's a plan," Ino said triumphantly.

Hinata looked down. "Y-you don't have to do this," she said.

"Bullshit," said Temari. "I've only been here for a week, but already I have more friends here then I ever did in Suna, and friends look out for each other… and their love interests," she said with a grin.

Tenten nodded. "Totally."

Hinata smiled at them. "A-arigato…"

Sakura hugged Hinata. "No problemo Hina," she said with a grin.

The next morning…

"Oh shit…" Ino moaned. The girls had stayed up until 6 in the morning. Now it was almost 12, and with only 6 hours of sleep, they didn't seem to be in that good of a mood.

"I love you guys," Tenten said, "But you are such a bad influence on me."

Temari chuckled. "You've got that right."

Ino sat up. "Hey, do you guys just want to stay over the rest of the day until the party? We can stop by your guys houses for some clothes when we go to pick up the food."

Sakura nodded. "Sure, I'll just tell my mom."

Hinata looked down. "My dad's out of town, so I don't have to ask or anything."

Temari and Tenten just nodded, both trying to wake up.

Ino got up. "I'll go get some breakfast or something," she said, stepping over the empty bowls of popcorn, chip bags, and plates of various snacks. Temari stood up.

"I'll come too."

Hinata laid back.

"Hey Hinata, shouldn't you tell Neji or something, so he doesn't go on a killing spree or whatever?" Sakura asked.

Hinata groaned. "Oh yeah…" She sat up and rummaged around in her purse for her cell phone. She dialed his cell number and let it ring.

"This is Hyuga Neji."

"H-hi Neji-sempai," she said. "I just wanted to t-tell you I'm going t-to be staying over at I-Ino's until the party."

"Ok."

"Bye…" she said, before hanging up. Sakura was talking to Tenten.

"I just don't get what you see in Neji," Sakura said to Tenten.

Tenten grinned. "I don't really know either… whenever I'm around him… I just get this feeling. Y'know?"

Sakura nodded. "Yep. I just don't get it. I mean he is so controlling, and you just seem like the type to take none of that."

"Well, it's not like he would _ever_ get away with any of that with me. I would bitch slap him up and down Main Street if he even tried.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked. "I mean, remember that girl, Mituke. She was so aggressive, but she went out with that guy Soku, and he was completely controlling her life, and she couldn't do anything about it…"

"Well, I've got you guys if that happens," Tenten said with a grin. "Besides, Neji doesn't seem like that type of guy. Right Hinata?"

"Um… w-what do you mean?"

"Well, to put it bluntly, is Neji a controlling kind of guy?" Tenten asked.

"Um… h-he can be… but not in the way you guys were talking a-about," Hinata said, sitting down.

"See Sakura. Besides, I'd be more worried about Sasuke."

Sakura blushed. "W-what do you mean?"

"Doesn't he seem a little controlling to you?" Tenten asked with a smirk.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Not really."

Tenten laughed. "Fine, fine."

Ino came back in with Temari. They were carrying a big stack of toast, coffee and some fruit. "I was thinking I could make pancakes, but I really can't," Ino said, setting down the fruit and coffee. Tenten grabbed a mug of coffee and breathed in its scent. "Screw Neji," she said. "I'm in love with this."

Temari and Sakura nodded their agreement as they started to drink it as well. Hinata savored hers, and Ino was chowing down on some toast. "So," Ino said with her mouth full. "Let's get going in a half an hour or something. You can grab some clothes for the party, and then we can go pick up the stuff."

"Sure."

Three hours later…

"I really didn't know it would take that long," Ino said, collapsing on the couch.

"It's fine," Sakura said, setting her bag of food down. Temari leaned on the back of the couch, and Hinata and Tenten were on the floor.

"I think we should have some of that Red Bull we picked up," Temari said.

Ino grabbed one and chugged it. "I'm going to go clean up upstairs before I set up," she said. Sakura nodded.

"Need any help?"

"It would rock if you could get the stuff into the fridge."

"Sure thing."

Sakura and Tenten lugged the bags in, followed closely by Temari and Hinata. Temari started putting the drinks in the cooler while the others loaded the fridge with the rest of the food.

"So Temari. Are any guys here interesting you yet?" Sakura asked.

Tenten started giggling and Temari rolled her eyes. "If you want to tell her, tell her."

"She has a crush on Shikamaru!" Tenten exclaimed. Sakura's jaw dropped and Hinata turned red.

"I would never have guessed…" Sakura said.

"So Tenten has told me," Temari said with another eye roll. "I've barely met him though. I sit next to him in English but that is really it. All I know is that he falls asleep a lot."

"Well, S-Shikamaru's not a b-bad guy," said Hinata. "S-so that's g-good…"

Temari chuckled.

Ino ran downstairs.

"Omigosh-I-think-the-Red-Bull-kicked-in-and-Temari-your-weird-brother-is-here-looking-for-you," Ino said, accidentally knocking over and shattering a mug as she did.

Temari stared at Ino. "Wait, Gaara is here?"

Ino nodded and Temari walked over to her door and opened it. Gaara was there. "Oh, Gaara, what is it?"

"Well when you didn't come home today or answer your cell I thought something might be up."

Temari shook her head. "Sorry, I forgot to call and tell you I was staying over at Ino's until the party tonight. Weren't you home when I stopped by to grab some clothes?"

"No."

"Well… that's the plan. See you tonight," she said, closing the door in his face.

"Hey Sakura, you know how earlier you mentioned you guys were talking about controlling guys… well my brother takes the cake.

That evening…

It was right before the party was supposed to start. Sakura and Ino were in the living room dancing to Forbidden Fruit, which Ino had blaring on the Stereo. Temari and Tenten were lip-syncing to it while Hinata watched. Sakura had changed into a pink mini, with a light green spaghetti string top. Ino was wearing a big poofy purple skirt that looked like a tutu, and a white halter. Hinata had put on a navy halter dress that went down to her knees. Tenten was wearing a red, layered skirt that went down to her lower thighs, and a matching red top. Temari had adorned a black mini-dress, with lace at the hem, and had lined her eyes with kohl.

"If you swear to mee!" Tenten belted, shaking her hips side to side. Temari had given up singing and was just laughing. Sakura and Ino were giggling as they danced, and Hinata was smiling as she watched them.

Ino grinned as the song ended and put on her party track. "Ok, people should be arriving soon, so I should probably put the actual music on."

Shakira started playing and Ino swayed her hips to the beat. The doorbell rung, and she danced to the door, pulling it open. "Hey Naruto, Sasuke," she said, as they walked in.

Sakura had been dancing with Tenten, but when she heard Sasuke's name her cheeks went pink again. Tenten smirked at her and gave her a little push towards them. "Go, chat, flirt," she said under her breath with a grin.

Sakura gave a tiny wave to Naruto and Sasuke. "Um, hey Naruto, hey Sasuke."

Naruto greeted her and Sasuke just grunted.

For the next half an hour or so more and more people kept arriving until Ino's house was packed. Ino moved around mingling with various people or making out with Sai. Hinata stayed in the back, watching everything until Tenten and Sakura dragged her onto the dance floor. Temari had chugged three Red Bulls and was dancing, surrounded by several admirers.

Sakura giggled as she, Tenten and Hinata danced there hearts out through, Shut Up and Drive, Never Underestimate a Girl, and Evacuate the Dance Floor. Temari shed her admirers and joined them halfway through Hips Don't Lie, and after it was done, Sakura left them to go grab another drink. She entered the kitchen, sighing as she got away from the pulsating crowds in the other rooms. She was grabbing a Sprite when she heard someone behind her. Sasuke was grabbing a bottle of Mountain Dew, and didn't seem to spare her a glance. She was leaving when he asked, "So you like Jack Reed?"

"Huh?" she asked, blinking.

"I saw you reading 10 Days That Shook The World the other day," he said.

"Oh… yeah, Jack Reeds a really good writer. I have to admit I like Anne Rice better, but their books are so different it's hard to compare them," she said. _'Oh great… now I'm babbling…'_ she thought ruefully.

Sasuke did the unexpected and cracked something that might have been considered a smile. "I'm a fan of Ms. Rice myself."

She grinned. "Oh, aren't her books amazing. I love the character Claudia."

They chatted for books for a little longer when Sasuke asked her a question that almost made her choke on her Sprite. "Want to dance or something?"

"Sure!" she said when she could trust her voice again. They moved back into the main room and began dancing. Ino had put on Forbidden Fruit again, and Sakura had to say, it was something of a thrill to dance to it with Sasuke.

Ino saw them and smiled triumphantly. "Finally," she muttered. Sai looked over at her with a questioning expression and Ino just rolled her eyes. "Kiss me," she said, and he obliged.


	8. Partaay pt 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Red Bull**

**No saltines were harmed in the making of this FanFic**

-----

It was 10 o'clock and no one gave any sign of wanting to quit the partying. Sakura and Sasuke had kept dancing, as did Tenten. Kiba had been flirting with Hinata for a while, and Temari was sitting on the couch, feeling the results of her limited amount of sleep. She sighed and got up, going out back. Most everyone had abandoned the back deck when it got to cold to be comfortable. She sat down in one of the lounge chairs and stared into the night.

"Isn't it a little cold to be out here?"

She looked up and saw Shikamaru standing there, looking down at her. She made a face. "Maybe for you. I'm fine though," she said. Exhaustion made her bitchier then normal, and it was definitely coming out now.

He rolled his eyes and sat down in one of the other lounge chairs. She looked over at him. He still had his hair up like a pineapple and Temari kind of wondered what would happen if she poked it. "Something wrong?" He asked, and Temari realized she had been staring at him. She glared at him in response.

"No."

She turned back to him. "One thing. Why are you out here? You're the one who said it was too cold."

He sighed. "I don't really mind the cold, and its to noisy inside."

She frowned slightly and turned her head back to where she had been staring before he came out. She shivered slightly and realized ruefully, he was right. It _was_ cold. Something hit her on the head, and she grabbed it. It was his coat. She narrowed her eyes, but laid it over her arms. "What was that for?"

"I figured you wouldn't be one to go back inside…" he said. She blinked and turned her head again. She sniffed his coat when she was resettling herself. _'It smells… like soap… and something else,'_ she thought. She couldn't place the other scent but whatever it was she liked it.

"Thanks."

Inside…

Tenten had drunken a Red Bull and 6 cups of this punch Ino had set out, and was on top of what she thought was a sugar high. She was still dancing, and giggling like crazy. Hinata had left a little while ago so she didn't have to look out for her and/or Naruto anymore. She didn't know where Neji was anyway. She tripped over something and went sprawling. "Whoopsie," she giggled as someone pulled her up. _'Speak of the devil,'_ she thought as she came face to face with Neji.

Neji looked at her with a slightly disgusted expression. She hiccupped. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Tenten… are you drunk?" he asked.

Tenten frowned. "I don't thisk so," she said, her words slurring together. Neji groaned and dragged her over to Ino.

"Ino, what did you put in that punch?"

"Um, I didn't make it," Ino said. "Sakura did."

Neji went over to Sakura. "Sakura, what's in that punch?" Sakura stopped dancing to look at Neji.

"Um… some fruit juice, sugar, and some stuff in this bottle Ino told me to use."

Ino came over. "Oh fuck," she muttered when she heard what Sakura said. "Sakura, did you use the brown unmarked bottle?"

Sakura nodded. "Um, yeah. Isn't that the one you wanted me to use? You said unmarked."

Ino dropped her head with a sigh. "T-that was the cooking sherry…" Ino mumbled. Sakura gasped and covered her mouth.

"Shit."

Tenten giggled. "I'm drunk? Wow…"

Ino shook her head. "It wasn't really your fault Sakura. I didn't tell you what it actually looked like." Both girls looked at Tenten. "Um, Tennie, do you want us to take you home?"

Neji sighed. "I can do that," he said, before steering Tenten to the door.

"Where are we goishing?" she asked. Neji handed her coat to her and grabbed his own.

"I'm taking you home," he said, sounding annoyed. He was. Mostly at Sakura and Ino for letting this happen, but in the background he heard Ino getting rid of the punch so at least she was fixing the problem. Kind of.

Tenten followed him out, letting Neji steer her by her arm. She giggled as they walked. "Why'r you sho annoyed?" she asked as he got to his car.

He ignored her and opened the passenger door, before going into the driver's side. He had a black Saturn. _'Shiny,'_ was all Tenten thought as she got in. "You didn't ansher my queshtion," she said.

"Well, other then Ino and Sakura making a major fuck-up, no reason," he growled as he started to drive.

Tenten huffed. "Well, your really rude when your annoyed," she said, crossing her arms.

Neji rolled his eyes. They were halfway to Tenten's house when Tenten groaned. "Pull over," she said. Neji looked over at her, and pulled over quickly. Tenten threw the door open and jumped out, before barfing. Neji got out and walked over to her. He waited until she was done, and then helped her back into the car, and they drove to her place. Tenten rubbed her stomach. "I feel like shit," she muttered.

Neji helped her up to her house, practically carrying Tenten who was not taking the aftereffect of being drunk very well. "Neji, my momsh not home," Tenten mumbled. "She took my shiblings to vishit my grandmother…" Neji nodded in acknowledgement, and opened the door. He gave up on trying to help her up the stairs, and instead just carried her.

"You know, you don't take being drunk very well," he said to her. She nodded in agreement.

"I don't take mucsh shtuff like this well…" she mumbled as he set her down at the top of the staircase, and helped her into her room. Her walls were a cream color, and she had hard wood floors. Most of the walls were decorated with either awards she had won for sports, or posters of her favorite sports teams and martial artists. She had shoved her bed into one corner, and ditched the idea of a desk or anything like that for a floor mat and a rack on which she had placed a few weapons she worked with when she practiced kung fu. She had a guitar and an amp as well, and they had been placed in front of one of her closer doors.

Neji looked around before getting her over to her bed. Tenten moaned and collapsed on it. Neji looked down at her. "Do you need anything?"

Tenten shook her head, and he started out.

"Um… actually Nejshi… could you shtay over… not in here… I jusht don't want to be alone here tonisht," she mumbled, looking embarrassed. Neji looked back at her and nodded.

"Sure. I'll stay on your couch downstairs." Tenten gave him a weak smile of thanks and shifted herself so she was lying vertically on her bed.

"Thanksh…"

The next morning…

Tenten moaned as she woke up. Her head was killing her. Suddenly something shifted in her stomach, and she bolted into her bathroom. She threw up what felt like everything she had eaten in the last few days, and more. She dragged herself downstairs when she was done and collapsed in the living room. Neji came in with something in a glass, and a box of saltines he had obviously found in her pantry. He handed her the glass.

"I wouldn't look at or smell it," he said. "Just pinch your nose and drink." Tenten did so and gagged.

"It's disgusting!" she said.

"It'll help your headache," he said. Then he handed her the saltines. "And I think you know what those will help you with."

Tenten nodded and ripped the box open, before grabbing a handful and shoving them into her mouth. The phone rang and she swallowed, grabbing it. "This had better be important," she grumbled into it.

"Tennie, it's me Ino."

"And Sakura," a voice shouted in the background.

"We just wanted to apologize. It was such a stupid mistake we made," Ino said, sounding worried.

Tenten gave a small laugh. "It's fine. We were all so tired yesterday, no wonder we screwed that up," she said. "I really don't blame you. I do have to go now though. Talking is really not doing much for me right now," she said.

"Ok. We'll come over later. I've got this tea that really can perk anyone up," said Ino.

"'Kay… bye," Tenten said, before hanging up. She sighed and shoved some more saltines in her mouth, before flicking her TV on. She looked up at Neji. "Um, you can grab anything you want to eat for breakfast," she said. "I've got cereal, toast, fruit… um we have some eggs and st--"

Neji kissing her cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

Tenten hadn't really been kissed like that before. She had had a few kisses by guys who then suffered an extremely painful death, but never like Neji kissed her now. She let out a sound of surprise, and dropped the saltines on the floor. His hands cupped her face, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back. She was completely absorbed in it. He pulled back and looked at her.

"And why, might I ask, are you stopping?" Tenten choked out. Neji smirked and kissed her again, and all thoughts of hangovers completely flew out of Tenten's mind.

Later that day…

Sakura was in the library again. She normally went there when she was upset and she was now. She couldn't believe she had made a mistake like that, and now Tenten was paying for it. After she had found out Tenten was drunk she had left the party, and wandered home. Sakura herself wasn't surprised she was taking it so hard, but then again, that was just her way.

She had curled up in a chair in the study room. It was empty again, and she was staring at the cover of a book she had picked up. The door opened and she looked up. It was Sasuke again. "Oh… um, hi… sorry for leaving so quickly," she said, biting her lip.

He shrugged. "It's fine. I figured you were upset about whatever you were talking about with Ino and Tenten. Something about punch?"

Sakura nodded miserably. "I put cooking sherry in the punch by accident, and Tenten got drunk. If Neji hadn't realized, she might have even tried to drive herself home. I mean, what if someone else had gotten drunk? What if someone got into an accident when they were driving home? What if--"

Sasuke cut her off. "Do you always think of the worst scenario?"

She nodded. "Most of the time," she said.

He sighed. "Nothing did happen. You can 'what if' into oblivion but that won't change the fact that nothing happened."

"But something might have happened. That's the point. I put like, and entire bottle in there. A whole bottle!" she said, her voice getting higher and higher. "I got lucky! But if I can make a mistake as stupid as mixing up bottles, imagine what else I can screw up!" she said jumping up. It was a good thing the room was soundproof, or else Sakura would have been thrown out by then.

Sasuke stood up, and gently pushed on her shoulders to make her sit down again. She glared at him. "Do you even get what I'm talking about?"

He nodded. "I do. Everyone makes mistakes though. Don't beat yourself up over it." Sakura sighed. "Come on. I mean, is Tenten ok now?"

She nodded. "I think so."

"Then maybe you did get lucky. It'll just help you not to fuck up again," he said, his face impassive. She nodded.

"Ok." She stood up. "I'm going to get going then… thanks for the help," she said with a small smile.

"No problem."


	9. Bonfires and Squid

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**To my knowledge Niko Bento does not exist, but any similarities between the Niko Bento in this story and the other are purely coincidental**

**No tea was harmed in the making of this FanFic**

----

A few weeks went by with no big incidents. Hinata and Naruto seemed to be avoiding each other, and the only big change was Neji and Tenten. They were pretty much against PDA but most people could still tell they were a couple now. Ino was particularly thrilled, because, the way she put it, she had been trying to hook the girls up since last year and it's finally succeeded for one of them.

Now the beginning of October was here, which meant Ino was getting ready for her annual Halloween Party. Ino found every holiday as an excuse to throw a party, but the holidays she threw the biggest parties for were Halloween and Christmas. Last year she had gotten help carving 100 pumpkins that she placed all over her roof and front yard and she had filled her hot tub with a drink that looked pretty much like blood. Of course, this year she would half to do better. She was thinking of doing a pagan style party and having a bonfire and using turnips to carve instead of pumpkins. And of course masks.

Ino loved studying cultures so she was going all out for the party. It took a lot of coaxing from Hinata to get Ino's head out of party mode so she wouldn't fail all her classes.

"I just don't know how I am going to do the turnips. I mean it was hard enough getting some people to carve 100 pumpkins, but 500 turnips? This time there's no way I can give them away to people who want jack-o'-lanterns. What am I going to do with 500 carved turnips?" she said. They were at lunch and Ino was trying to figure out how to make the turnip idea work.

"Well…" said Sakura. "Maybe you don't have to light them. You could carve them and then use them to make… stew?"

Ino looked at her. "That might work. I could donate homemade stew…" Ino also had a habit of donating stuff after each party. "But that would be a lot of stew to cook."

"We'll help," Sakura and Hinata said at the same time.

"I'll do it too," said Tenten, and Temari nodded to signal she'd pitch in as well. Ino grinned.

"Thanks girls. Ok, now for the bonfire. I want it big, really big, but I'm going to have to get permission from the fire department and the police station, and how will that go?" Ino asked, poking her salad and yogurt.

Sakura sat her sandwich down and stood up. "I have an idea. I'll be right back," she said.

She walked over to Sasuke. He was eating with a few others, and they all looked up when she came over. "Um… Sasuke, could I ask you a favor?"

"What?"

"Um, in private?" she asked with a nervous smile. He stood and followed her out of the cafeteria.

"Ok, this is going to sound horrible, but you know how your uncle is chief of police?" she asked. He nodded. "Well… Ino is having this big party on Halloween, like she does every year, and she is planning for a bonfire, but since you need permission from the fire department and the police for the size of bonfire she wants, I was thinking…" he held up his hand to stop her.

"You want me to get my uncle to let Ino do her bonfire?" he asked. She nodded.

"It would be out on the beach behind Ino's house, and there would be nothing that could be burned near it, and of course she would supervise and stuff," Sakura said quickly.

Sasuke looked at her. "What do I get from it?"

"Um," said Sakura. "My undying gratitude?"

"How about dinner," Sasuke said. Sakura thought her heart stopped for a second.

"Um, sure," she said. _'Omigosh… is Uchiha Sasuke asking me out?!'_

"Ok. Does Saturday work?"

Sakura nodded.

"Ok. Saturday. I'll pick you up at 6:30," he said, before walking back into the cafeteria. Sakura stood there in shock before going back in. She walked over to Ino.

"Ino-your-bonfire-is-a-go-and-Uchiha-Sasuke-just-asked-me-out," she said in one breath. Ino clapped her hands together.

"Two things that make me very happy!" she exclaimed. "Now I only have to worry about getting Hinata and Temari some guys… or girls if you swing that way, but I don't think you do," she said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

Sakura shook her head and sat back down.

That evening…

Temari had set up her camera in the park by the lake. She was doing landscape shots and wanted to use the evening light to get some good shadow effects. She focused her camera on the waterfront. _'Looks good…' _she thought, and she took the shot. She zoomed in, focused and took another. After she took some more back-up shots she took her camera to go scout out more locations.

She looked at the sky. "I think I can get one more shot," she muttered. She set up her camera to get a shot of some trees. The shadow and sky worked perfectly together. She took a few shots and grinned. Today had obviously been a good day for her. She started to put her camera back in her case when she heard a lazy drawl.

"So you're interested in photography too?" Shikamaru asked. His hands were stuck in his pockets as he watched Temari. Temari nodded and zipped the case up.

"Yes I am. How long were you watching me?"

"I wasn't. Not really anyway. I was heading to Niko Bento for dinner." He shrugged. "Want to join me?"

It took her a fraction of a second to decide. "Sure," she said, sounding more relaxed then she felt. They started walking through the park.

"So what kind of photography do you do?" he asked.

"A lot of different kinds. I like working with shadow and light a lot. Landscape and life pictures are my favorite kind to do," she said, shifting her camera bag over one shoulder.

"Sounds interesting."

"Oh it really is. It's amazing how much shadow or a beam of light can completely change a picture," she gushed, getting excited. "The mood is a huge part of a picture. You can have a picture of a tree, but with different lighting it can completely change from one thing to another."

Shikamaru watched her with an amused look on his face. "What?" Temari snapped.

"Nothing."

Temari rolled her eyes. They got to the Niko's and Temari looked around. "Smells good," she said.

They sat down at a table, and Temari looked over the menu. She put it down after a few minutes and looked at Shikamaru. "Not bothering looking at the menu?" she asked.

"I already know what I'm getting," he said with a shrug.

The waitress walked up. "Oh, hello again Mr. Nara," she said. "What can I get you two?" she asked.

Temari watched Shikamaru while she ordered. "I'll have the pork bento."

"I'll have mackerel," Shikamaru said.

The waitress left and Temari leaned towards Shikamaru. "I see you've been here before," she said with a smirk.

He nodded. "Yep. Now answer me this, is there anything you like other then photography and making snarky comments?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes," she hissed. "I enjoy botany quite a bit…"

He chuckled. "Botany?"

She nodded. "What about you? Being annoying?"

He rolled his eyes and muttered something before responding; "Cloud watching."

"Did you just call me troublesome?" Temari demanded.

He raised an eyebrow and leaned back. "And if I did?"

She glared at him, and then the food arrived. She was horrified to see squid, but the waitress walked away before she could say anything. "Who in their right mind would put squid in with pork?" she muttered.

Shikamaru looked up from his food. "You don't like squid?" he asked, sounding bemused.

She grimaced, and he reached over with his chopsticks and picked up the piece of squid. "Hey!" she exclaimed.

"Did you want to eat it?" he asked. His voice sounded like he was teasing her and she snatched up her chopsticks.

"No."

She started to eat her pork. "Mmmm… thi' i' 'eally good," she said, her mouth bulging with food.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Troublesome."

"Lazyass."

Hyuga Mansion…

Hinata was up in her room when the doorbell rang. She jumped, knocking her tea over. She frowned before going downstairs. Neither Neji nor her father was home, and she didn't think Hanabi was having anyone over. She opened the door to find Naruto there.

"N-Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed.

"Hey Hinata," he said.

"D-did y-you need s-something?" she asked, still shocked.

"Well, I was hoping, if you were still willing, if you could start tutoring me again? I know that Neji might not be so happy if he found out… but I really don't think he will," he said, with an embarrassed shrug.

Hinata nodded and blushed. "O-ok…" she said, stepping to one side to let him in. He walked in and they both started upstairs. "H-Hanabi, could you s-stay downstairs?" Hinata called down.

"Fine," came the response.

Hinata led Naruto into her room and sat down. He looked down at her. "By the way, I just wanted to apologize for what happened last month. I completely blew you off, I just was worried about what might happen to you if I came back over."

Hinata blushed again. "D-don't worry about i-it…"

Naruto looked at her again and felt something strange, but he shook off the feeling and sat down next to her.

"L-lets start with the h-homework…"


	10. Pull an Ino

**I do not own Naruto**

**No gym mats were harmed in the making of this FanFic**

----

The next Monday the gym finally reopened. Tenten was thrilled. "Yes! Soccer team here I come!" she yelled, jumping up and down. Ino sighed. "Yay… volleyball…" she muttered, sounding like she was dying just thinking about the game.

Temari rolled her eyes and walked into the locker room with the other two. She went over to an empty locker and took off her black micro-mini, tartan leggings, and her black vest. Under the vest she wore fishnets on her torso and arms, so she got those off as well and pulled on the shorts and tank top. The shorts were a little too short for some, but Temari was fine with it. Ino and Tenten had changed too, and the girls walked into the gym.

"By the way… I thought the gym was supposed to open last month," Temari said.

Ino grinned. "Something wrong with the foundation," she said.

"Hello youthful students!"

"Who is _that_?" Temari asked Ino.

"That's our gym teacher, Might Gai. He is a little… different."

'_Tell me about it,'_ thought Temari, looking at his green jumpsuit, bowl hair cut and huge eyebrows. _'He looks like that Lee kid.'_

"Today, youthful students, we will be studying…"

"It's going to be volleyball," Ino muttered dejectedly.

"Self-defense."

"What?" Ino yelled, a note of joy in her voice.

Gai nodded. "Indeed we will Ino. Principle Tsunade thought it would be a good idea to teach self-defense to the students, and I agreed. You will be paired up with each other," he said with a smile.

Ino scootched towards Tenten and Temari until Gai said; "By me."

Ino dropped her head. Temari was grinning though. She had studied Karate and Kendo for a while and knew how to defend herself. _'Piece of cake,'_ she thought triumphantly.

Tenten was also smirking. She had this in the bag.

"… Yamanaka Ino with Inuzaka Kiba," Might Gai said, as he paired the students up.

Ino gulped. She wasn't good at any kind of martial art, and you couldn't use yoga to fight off an attacker.

"… Tenten with Hyuga Neji…"

Tenten's jaw dropped. "Aw shit," she muttered.

"What?" Temari asked. Tenten looked at Temari dejectedly.

"He's going to go easy on me," she said.

"… and Subaku no Temari with Nara Shikamaru," Gai finished. Temari smirked. She could kick his ass.

"Alright, get with your partners please," Gai said. Ino inched towards Kiba nervously, Tenten went over to Neji, thinking about ways she could get him to actually attack her and Temari walked over to stand by Shikamaru with a big smirk on her face.

"Now, we have some mats here," Gai said, motioning to several very long mats on the floor. "It'll be 4 pairs to a mat, and we'll be first working on fending off an attack from the back." Tenten frowned.

"Um, Gai-sensei… who is going to be doing the attacking?" she asked.

"The boys." Temari shook her head. _'Kind of sexist,'_ she thought.

Tenten grumbled about how girls could be as strong as guys and Gai heard her. "I agree, youthful student Tenten, but Principle Tsunade thought it would be more useful for the girls. Now, lets get started."

He demonstrated a few different ways of fending off an attack from the back with a grumpy looking TA, and then grinned. "Get started!"

Ino, Tenten and Temari went over to one mat, and their partners followed. Ino looked nervous. "What's wrong Ino?" Temari asked.

"I've never done this before… and Kiba is reeaaally strong," Ino mumbled. Tenten giggled.

"Don't worry. Kiba may be a bit of a pervert, but I don't think he's do anything to bad." Ino didn't look reassured but she nodded. Tenten swaggered over to Neji.

"Ok Neji. I have one thing to ask."

"What?"

"For you to not go easy on me at all. 'Kay?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Hn."

Tenten rolled her eyes and walked over to one part of the mat. She stood in front of Neji. "Ok, come on," she said.

It felt like someone had put an iron bar in front of her shoulders and pushed her on it. Tenten grimaced and tried to flip him over her. It didn't work. She tried again. Nothing. She tensed all her muscles and grunted, using all her strength to try it. She felt him move, but instead of going over her, he shifted so she tripped. He leaned over her. "Are you ok?"

She grimaced. "I wasn't expecting that," she grumbled, before standing. "Let's do it again," she demanded.

Temari stood in front of Shikamaru, the smirk still plastered on her face. He grabbed her and she started to flip him. Suddenly he was looking down at her as she lay on the mat. "That was sloppy of you," he said. She blinked and narrowed her eyes. _'So the lazyass actually _can _do something,'_ she thought. She stood up and he grabbed her again, but before he actually touched her, she grabbed his hands and turned as she yanked so he went flying into the mat.

A muffled 'ow' came from him and Temari grinned in satisfaction.

Ino stood nervously in front of Kiba and he grabbed her. She yelled, and kicked her foot up behind her on impulse. The whole gym went silent as Kiba grunted in pain. Ino gasped and looked back at him. He was on the ground. "Fuck," he muttered.

"Oops," Ino mouthed.

"As Ino has demonstrated the heel to the groin works well too," Gai said nervously as Ino helped Kiba up.

After school…

The girls had all gone to Temari's house after school that day. You could no longer see the original wall color in Temari's room seeing as she had papered them with posters of her favorite bands and musical artists such as Yoko Kanno, Emilie Autumn, and P!nk. They were talking about gym that day.

"…it was just hilarious!" Tenten exclaimed as she finished recalling Ino during gym that day. Ino glowered at Tenten.

"It was just a reflex!" she exclaimed. "Besides, Tenten, you weren't so great today either."

Tenten's face immediately fell.

"W-what happened?" Hinata asked.

"I was paired with Neji… apparently he is very fit…"

Sakura burst out laughing and Hinata bit her lip. "Well… h-he _is_ three time champion of the regional Karate t-tournament," she mumbled.

Tenten froze. "What?" she hissed.

"U-um… he's w-won the r-regional K-karat--"

"Shit," Tenten said, sounding impressed. "I haven't even gotten to the city champion ships…" she muttered.

Sakura chuckled. "Well, Hinata did worse then all of you combined," she said. Hinata blushed and nodded her agreement.

"What happened?"

"… _Hyuga Hinata with Uzumaki Naruto…"_

_Hinata froze. "W-what?" she stuttered, but Gai hadn't heard her. Naruto walked over._

"_Hey Hinata. Guess we're partners," he said. Hinata thought her heart was going to stop. She nodded though._

"_I g-guess so…"_

_Hinata was frozen in shock throughout most of Gai's demonstrations, but was woken from it when Sakura poked her in the ribs. "Oy, Hinata, come on," she said. They walked over to one of the mats with Naruto and Sasuke, and Sakura went over with Sasuke, leaving Hinata and Naruto their own corner._

"_Um, Hinata, are you ok?" Naruto asked._

_She nodded quickly. "I'I'm f-fine N-N-Naruto-kun." She stood in front of him. He grabbed her from behind. Hinata should have been expecting it, but she was still trying to wake herself up. Suddenly she felt Naruto behind her. _'H-he's so close to me…'_ she thought. Then the reality hit her and she passed out._

Tenten frowned. "Was that a sudden flashback?" she asked.

Sakura nodded slowly. "I think it was. That's strange."

Ino was laughing though. "Oh, Hinata, you poor girl," she said.

Hinata hung her head. "It was so embarrassing…" she muttered.

"I'll bet it was," Temari said.

Then Ino turned to Sakura. "Wait, Sakura, so you and Sasuke were paired up?" Sakura nodded, looking embarrassed. "How did that go?" Ino asked.

"Well… turns out when I was training in martial arts for the past few years… he was too… and he is a lot better then me," she said, sounding annoyed. Temari chuckled.

"Sounds like all of you girls are out of luck," she said. "I've been paired with Shikamaru, and he is to lazy to give a damn about it."

"Lucky," Ino said.

Tenten stood. "Well, I've got to go," she said. "I've got practice." She gave them all hugs before going outside. She started to jog to school. She had signed up for the soccer team, and they took her on without a second thought. Now with only a few weeks until the first game they had planned practices for every weekday evening. She got there just in time for warm-ups.

3 hours later…

Tenten shivered as she left the school grounds. It was nine o'clock and she was freezing. She jogged through the area. It was a few miles to her house, but she didn't want to go catch a bus so she had decided to run. She was passing the alley between Okadu Fitness and Sam's Nightclub when someone grabbed her. They yanked her by the waist into the alley and Tenten was winded before she thought to scream.

Whoever it was slammed her into a wall. She threw her bag down and pulled an Ino, kicking him in the groin. When he doubled over she freed herself and delivered a roundhouse kick to his head. He groaned and dropped to the ground. She didn't recognize whoever it was, but she did the first thing she thought of. She whipped her cell phone out.

"Yes, I'd like to report an attack."


	11. Overprotective

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Enjoy!**

Tenten sat in the police station with her mother. The man who attacked her had been arrested, and they had called her in for questioning about the incident.

"Ms. Tenten," the police officer said as he came in and sat down opposite from her. "Have you ever seen this man before?" he asked, holding up a picture of the man that had attacked Tenten.

She shook her head. "Never."

"Can you tell me the time that this incident occurred?"

An hour later…

Tenten walked back outside after they were done with the questioning. Her mother was waiting with her, along with Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Temari. Her friends rushed up to hug her. "Oh, my god I'm so sorry," Ino said. Tenten smiled.

"It's ok guys really… I'm just going to go home now." They nodded and released her. She walked over to her mom and hugged her. Her mom looked like she was going to cry. They walked towards their car and Tenten looked around. _'Where's Neji?' _she wondered.

She saw him standing a little ways away. She walked over to him and kissed him. He looked like he wanted to kill someone, but Tenten just kissed him. "I need a little time… I'll see you tomorrow," she murmured, before walking back to her mom's car. She got in and they drove off.

The next day…

Tenten got up Friday morning and did her stretches. The attack hadn't made her insecure or nervous. Quite the contrary, she felt much stronger to know that she could protect herself if she needed it. She smiled to herself and finished up before jumping into the shower.

She walked downstairs as she was pinning her hair up into their usual buns. She found her mother waiting for her. "I thought I'd drive you to school today," her mother said.

"Mom, you'll be late for work," Tenten said, grabbing a banana and protein bar. Tenten's mom bit her lip.

"This shouldn't have happened," she murmured.

Tenten looked at her mother and bit her own lip. "But that's the thing… nothing did happen. I was able to save myself." Her mother looked up at her, her eyes filled with tears.

"And I am so proud of you," she said, hugging Tenten. Tenten closed her eyes and hugged her mother back.

"That's me, the self rescuing damsel."

Her mom drove her to school, and hesitated when she pulled up. "I love you Tenten," she said. Tenten looked at her and smiled.

"I love you too mom."

She stepped out of the car and walked up to school. Everyone seemed to be staring at her as she walked in. _'News travels fast,'_ she thought ruefully. She saw Neji waiting for her by her locker. She walked up. "Hi," she said with a grin.

Suddenly he embraced her, kissing her. It took Tenten by surprise, but she relaxed and kissed him back. "I take it you were worried?" she asked teasingly. Neji growled.

"Your so nonchalant about this," he said, sounding angry. Tenten was a little surprised. Sure it could have been bad, but that's what all the training was for. So she could defend herself. She studied a tile on the floor before she looked back up at him.

"I don't think so. I'm a little shaken up, but this just proves what I've known all along. That I can take care of myself," she said. "Are you alright?" she asked him.

"No," he said, taking a small step back to let her get her stuff out of her locker.

"The worst part of this for me is the fact that it could happen to anyone," Tenten said quietly. She sighed. "But the good thing is… because he's getting arrested, that means that that's one less fucktard out there," she said looking up at Neji. "You're not going to calm down for a while are you?" she asked him.

"No."

She hooked her arm through his and started to walk towards homeroom. "For some reason that makes me feel good."

Her friends all had similar reactions to Neji's. Sakura and Ino made a big deal about how calm she was. Temari said she wanted to go, 'fuck his shit up'. Hinata just stood by Tenten, like she was trying to keep her within' her range of sight. Neji stuck to Tenten like a bur for the rest of the day.

About halfway through art she was called to the principles office. She trudged up to Principle Tsunade's office. "You asked for me?" she said when she entered. Tsunade nodded.

"I did. Please take a seat," she said, motioning to one of the seats across from her. Tenten did so and looked at Tsunade. "Ms. Tenten, I heard about the attack that took place," the principle said. _'I could've guessed,'_ Tenten thought.

"It could have been worse," was Tenten's response.

Lady Tsunade nodded. "Indeed. I am just here to offer an ear if you need it. This kind of thing can be hard on a person," the principle said.

'_Wow, she isn't drunk for a change,'_ Tenten thought.

"Thank you," Tenten said. "It actually isn't that hard for me. I'm just relieved I fended him off."

Lady Tsunade nodded, a strange look on her face. "Erm, yes. Well, you should probably get back to class."

Tenten smiled. "Thank you ma'am," she said, before leaving.

That evening…

Tenten was sitting in the bleachers in the gym. She was waiting for practice to start, and was watching the cheerleaders practice. She watched one of the girls wobble a little but then straighten, as they practiced the pyramid. Tenten felt a bit like that. Almost losing her balance, but in the end getting stronger because of it. She heard someone sit down next to her and she saw Temari

"Oh, Temari," said Tenten with a grin. Temari looked at Tenten with an expression that might resemble a smile.

"What's wrong?" asked Tenten.

"Just wondering if you really are alright," Temari said with a shrug. "I'd imagine you would be but I know how you can feel after this sort of thing."

"I rea-… wait, you know?" Tenten asked, looking confused.

Temari shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah… I had something similar happen. I got jumped in Suna. Gaara got on the bad side of one of the gangs and I got the brunt of their reaction. It… didn't end well for me."

Tenten's eyes widened. "Oh my god…"

"Really, compared to a lot of things it isn't the worst that could have happened. I was able to do a little bit of damage. Not as much as you though," Temari said with a bitter laugh.

Tenten just looked at her, her face sympathetic. Temari sighed. "I'm glad you're okay though. Didn't want to make this about me… um… maybe you could not mention that to anyone? I have my pride," she said, slightly sheepish in the last part.

"Of course," Tenten said.

"Arigato, Ja ne," she said before walking off.

After practice…

It had taken a while, but Tenten made her mom practice to stay at work instead of pick her up. The deal was Tenten would take the bus home after practice. Tenten sighed and walked towards the bus stop. A car pulled up in front of her. She recognized it as Neji's and she walked towards it, opening the door, before sliding in.

"The last time I was in here I was about to vomit," she muttered with a smirk. Neji just looked at her and pulled away from the school. She in turned looked at Neji. "Y'know, this 'over-protective' shtick is going to get old fast," she said sternly.

He nodded. "I know."

"I'll give you a week," she said, crossing her arms.

"Hn."

They arrived at Tenten's house and she got out of the car and stretched. She looked back in at Neji. "By the way, you _could_ give Hinata a break."

Neji looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "The thing with her and Naruto. I mean, I know you're worried about her, but what is _Naruto_ going to do? Anyways, please think about it," she said, before closing the car door and walking into the house.

The next morning…

Tenten woke up early again. She pulled on her soccer uniform and grabbed her gym bag. She padded downstairs and found her mom waiting for her again. She had obviously put on a brave face and had made her a big breakfast. "I know you have a game today… so I made you some food," she said with a smile. Tenten smiled back and sat down. She had early morning practice and she knew it was a mistake to eat so much right before exercising but she didn't want to refuse her.

She dug into the pancakes and bacon her mom had made. "'rigao," she said with her mouth full. She mom sat across from her and watched her eat. Tenten looked up at her and grinned.

"I'm going to drive you to practice today, ok?" her mom asked. Tenten nodded.

"'kay."

She finished eating and got into the car. They drove to the school in silence and Tenten kissed her mom on the cheek as she got out. "I'll see you this afternoon," she said.

She got out of the car and walked towards the field. People were still giving her weird looks, but Tenten just ignored it. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened around Konoha, and she knew it would blow over soon enough.

'_Still,'_ she thought. _'I wish everyone could just stick it…'_


	12. You Can Date Him

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Miss Perfect**

**No Stop Signs were harmed in the making of this Fan Fic**

----

Sakura sat in her bedroom thinking. Mostly it was about the fact that Tenten was attacked. It had shaken her up, and even though Tenten was ok, the fact that this could happen to anyone had cracked the serenity in her life. She curled up on her bed into a ball and stared at her clock. It was about 25 minutes after 6. She sighed and went over to her dresser. She pulled out a pair of old sweats and a tank top and pulled them on. Then she went back over to her bed and grabbed a book.

She was planning to spend the entire evening reading, but a honk outside jarred her back to reality. "Oh, my god, Sasuke!" she exclaimed, remembering their date. She didn't have any time to change, so she grabbed a sweatshirt and ran downstairs. "Um, mom, I'm going out, ok?"

"Ok sweetie. Take your cell phone. When will you be back?"

"Later!" Sakura yelled, grabbing her purse and slipping on some sandles. She went outside. Sasuke had pulled up in front of her house. He drove a black (go figure) Camero. She walked up to it slowly and opened the door. She slid in and looked at him apologetically. "Sorry about the wait… um… it kind of slipped my mind," she said, biting her lip.

"Don't worry about it," he said, pulling out.

She felt self-conscious about the clothing she was wearing. If only she had waited to change a few minutes more. She stared out the windshield. She wasn't really in the mood to go out on a date, but she couldn't just refuse when he'd already shown up and all. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"I was thinking, Ichiraku. Unless you'd prefer something else."

"No, Ichiraku's is good," she said with a smile.

It took only a few minutes to get to Ichiraku's and they spent the trip in comfortable silence. Sakura was kind of glad she was there. Whenever she was with Sasuke she felt like she didn't have to put herself out. Ino demanded a little bit of chatter, but not Sasuke. They pulled into the parking lot, and Sakura got out first. They strolled into Ichiraku's and got a table.

"I'll take the miso special," Sakura said.

"I'll have one too," said Sasuke.

Sakura stared at the tablecloth as they waited for their food. "What's wrong?" asked Sasuke.

"Oh," Sakura said. She hadn't realized he had been watching her. "I'm… just thinking about my friend Tenten."

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, I heard about what happened."

Sakura sighed. "I'm just glad she's ok…"

"It's bothering you, isn't it?" Sasuke asked. Sakura bit her lip.

"A little," she admitted. "I mean, it could have happened to anyone. If it was me I don't think I would have been able to do much."

"I have to disagree. You're pretty good at defending yourself," Sasuke said.

Sakura shook her head. "I might be alright at it, but I can't even throw you off me in P.E. And it's not just me I'm worried about. What if it was Hinata, or Ino? Or someone else entirely?!" she asked, her voice rising. A few people looked over at her and she quieted. "It's just… it makes me realize how much this can happen, and to anyone… it's… it just..." she didn't finish what she was saying. "Are you going to say I'm overreacting?"

He shook his head. "No, you've pretty much hit the nail on the head."

Sakura frowned. "You're not doing a very good job at reassuring me."

"Was that was I was supposed to be doing?"

She took a sip of her water. "It's disturbing, that's all. I think I'm having an even harder time dealing then Tenten is. Tenten is doing fine, actually," she said, making a face.

"You don't seem to happy with that," Sasuke commented, his face impassive.

She rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine… it'll probably just take a while."

He shrugged. "I've found that's what happens after this sort of thing."

"What do you mean you've found?" Sakura asked.

"My mom and dad we're psychologists," he said.

"Oh."

The food arrived and Sakura felt a little better as she dug in. Then Miss Perfect started blaring from her pocket and she blushed, digging her phone out of her pocket and looked at the caller I.D. It was from her brother.

"Nani?" she snapped as she answered it.

"Woah. You ok there Sakura?" her brother asked, sounding amused.

Sakura sighed. "I'm a little busy Okako."

"What with? A date?" he asked, before laughing at his own joke.

"Actually, yes, I do," she hissed.

"You're shitting me."

She huffed. "Goodbye Okako!"

She hung up and grumbled as she started eating again. Sasuke watched her with an amused expression. "What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing, nothing…"

She sighed. "My brother can be quite annoying," she commented.

"He seemed nice enough."

"You're not his sister," she said, taking another bite of her ramen.

Her phone started ringing again. "What, Okako?!" she asked, practically yelling.

"Jeez. I just wanted to know who with."

She wanted to strangle him. "You called for that?!"

"Yeah."

"Yokeina osewa! None of your business!" she said.

"Heh, it's with that Uchiha kid isn't it?"

She hung up and turned her ringer off. "Baka," she muttered darkly, shoving the phone back into her pocket.

Sasuke was done eating already, and Sakura had eaten her fill so he paid the check. "Hey," Sakura said, now feeling a lot more open to doing something. "Want to go see a movie?"

He gave something that might have been considered a smile. "Sure."

She grinned and stood up. "You're paying," she said as she strutted out. They got into the car.

"Which movie?"

"Hmmm… I think Big Trouble in Little China is playing at the Koten Cinema," she said, naming a cinema a few miles away that played classic action movies. He smirked.

"You a fan of the action movies?"

She blushed a little and nodded. "Yep. Especially the cheesy kung fu movies."

A few hours later…

Sakura laughed as they exited the theater. "That was fantastic. I can't remember the last time I saw that movie, but I loved it!" she exclaimed. Sasuke followed behind her, actually smiling as he watched her.

They were driving her back home when it happened. It was at an intersection, and they were going through a green light when suddenly, out of nowhere, a car came roaring towards them. Sakura let out a scream, and they swerved to avoid hitting it. Instead they hit the stop sign full on, and Sakura flew forwards, before the airbag stopped her from slamming her head into the dashboard. She groaned, and put her hand on her forehead, where she was bleeding.

"Sakura, are you ok?!" Sasuke asked, unbuckling himself and leaning over towards her. She nodded.

"I-I'm fine. I'm just bleeding a little. What about you?" she asked, spying his wrist, which he was holding at a strange angle.

"I'm fine," he said, brushing off her concern. She unbuckled herself and opened the slightly crumpled door, before climbing out. He did the same. She saw him calling 911, so she leaned against the car, feeling her forehead. She didn't think she was too badly hurt, but she couldn't tell. Sasuke came over to her. "Their on their way," he said, taking away her hand so he could see her cut.

"I don't think you've got a concussion," he said finally. "You should probably see a doctor though." He stepped back a little. "I am so sorry Sakura."

She shook her head a little. "I-it wasn't your fault," she said, feeling shocked. She wasn't really processing what was going on, but she had a feeling it would hit her later. She looked around for the other car. "Did it get away?" she asked.

He nodded. "I think so."

"Holy shit," she muttered.

The next day…

They had gone to the hospital and the doctor had pronounced her completely fine. Sasuke was ok too; he only had to get a cast for his wrist. He mom had picked her up, and now the prime thing on Sakura's mind was about Sasuke. Her mom was known to not wait for the whole story, and Sakura betted she would blame Sasuke. At least her dad was out of the country at the moment – he would gut Sasuke.

She walked downstairs slowly, still in her pajamas. "Hey mom," she said as she walked into the kitchen. She grabbed a glass of orange juice, and when she turned around her mom was glaring at her, both hands on her hips. "Um, is something wrong?" Sakura asked nervously.

Her mom shook her head. "What the hell happened Sakura? You said you were going out, and 4 hours later I was coming to pick you up at the hospital." Sakura sighed.

"I told you last night. Sasuke was driving me home after the movie and some car almost ran us over. I think the guy driving it was drunk. It wasn't Sasuke's fault," she said, adding the last part incase her mom didn't connect that idea with what Sakura said.

Sakura's mom shook her head. "Jesus fucking Christ Sakura… who is this boy anyways?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sakura said quietly.

"The nephew of the chief of police?" her mother asked, sounding surprised. "What were you doing with him?"

"Um… going out on a date," Sakura said, sitting down.

Her mom did a double take. "Wait, what?"

"I was going on a date with him," Sakura repeated.

Her mom stared at her. "I didn't know you had a boyfried."

"I don't… well not really. It was one date," and until the accident, it was fantastic, she silently added.

Her mom sighed. "Ok."

'_Huh…'_ Sakura thought. "Wait, what do you mean 'ok'?"

"I mean, you can date him," her mom said, leaving the kitchen.

Sakura stared after her.

"That was interesting."


	13. Enter the Bee's

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**No**

----

Hinata walked through the halls of Konoha High School. She walked into the cafeteria and went over to her friends. "H-hey girls," she said, sitting down with her lunch. They smiled at her. Ino looked up.

"Hey, look who's coming over here," she said, standing up. Hinata and the others looked up as well. There, walking towards them, were the Bee's. Karin was in the lead, followed by Kin and Tayuya. Ino crossed her arms over her chest, sticking one hip out to the side. "Well, well, well, Karin," Ino said, smirking at her. Karin looked at Ino with a look of disgust, before fixating her gaze on Sakura.

"Sakura, I heard you went out on a date with Sasuke that ended with him getting a broken wrist. What did you do? Snap it?" she asked. Tayuya and Kin giggled on cue. Tenten rolled her eyes. Karin leaned closer to Sakura and grabbed her arm. "Sasuke is _mine_, Pinkie," she snarled. Sakura yanked her arm out of Karin's grip.

"Oh really?" she asked tauntingly. "Then why aren't you the one he's dating?"

Ino threw a shocked look at Sakura. 'Dating?' Ino mouthed, before breaking out into a huge grin. Karin just gave her a look of disgust before flouncing off. Kin threw a look at Tenten as they left; it was widely known Kin had a thing for Neji.

Sakura sighed. "Those girls need a serious smack."

"I'll do it," Ino volunteered.

Then Sakura looked at the others. "Um… do people think I broke Sasuke's wrist?"

Temari hesitated before answering. "Well, um, I don't think many people know about the accident yet. After it spreads around, I'm sure no one will think it," she said, trailing off at the end. Sakura looked a little sick.

"D-don't worry, Sakura," Hinata said, patting her on the arm.

Tenten picked at her food. "I am so tired of people throwing me looks. Either for that attack or for me dating Neji," she said tiredly.

Hinata smiled at Tenten and Tenten gave her a strained look.

"By the way, Hinata, how is your tutoring with Naruto going?" Sakura asked quietly.

Hinata blushed. "Um… f-fine…"

Temari grinned, leaning forwards. "Oh come on, what she means is, has he made a move yet?"

"N-Naruto?" Hinata asked. "N-n-no!"

Tenten shook her head. "It's up to you then, if he doesn't have the cojones to, then you will have to."

Hinata sat up straight, her face going red. "I-I… b-but…"

"I have an idea," Ino said. "The first soccer game of the season is coming up. You should totally get him to go with you."

"I c-couldn't," Hinata mumbled.

Tenten growled. "Then I will," she said, standing up and going over to Naruto's table.

"T-Tenten, no!" Hinata said, but Tenten ignored her.

"Naruto, I need to ask you something," Tenten said, planting both hands on her hips. He looked up at her with a questioning look on his face.

"What is it?"

"In private," Tenten said, rolling her eyes and dragging him out of the cafeteria. "Ok, let me cut to the chase. You have to take Hinata to the soccer game."

"What? Why? Neji will kill me!"

"Not if I can help it," Tenten said. "Besides, I've seen how you look at Hinata. Looks like Sakura's old news," she said with a smirk. Naruto shifted uncomfortably.

"Are you sure Neji wouldn't find out?"

"Positive," said Tenten. "It's a date then."

"Ok," said Naruto. "Wait, does Hinata know?"

"She's about to find out," Tenten said, walking back into the caf. She sat down back at the table. "Good news Hinata, you are going out with Naruto this Saturday."

Hinata looked shocked. "H-he said ok?"

"Yep," Tenten said, popping her lips on the 'p'.

"What i-if N--"

"I've got it covered," Tenten grouched.

That evening…

Temari was back at the park. She was taking more pictures, but most of these were of people. She had asked a few to stand under a certain tree and have their pictures taken for a project she was doing. Most had said yes, and she had just finished with the last one. She had done a few at a brick wall earlier, and even one or two by the waterfront. She sat down in a bench, satisfied with her work.

She didn't really want to go back home yet; only Gaara and Kankuro there.

"Back again?"

She looked up and saw Shikamaru standing by her. She tossed her head back and stared him in the eye. "Why yes I am," she said. "You going to Niko's?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Want to join me?"

She grinned. "Sure. I'm starving and neither Gaara or Kankuro can cook… and I'm pretty sure you know what my cooking is like," she muttered, remembering their last home ec class where she had managed to explode the eggs they were cooking.

He smirked and they started to walk towards Niko's. "By the way, what's so special about this area?" he asked her, nodding to her camera.

She shrugged. "I'm doing a big photo project and I am using one location only for it. After this I am thinking of scouting around for some other places. Maybe some alleys. I could do a whole spread on the local graffiti art," she said. "Yeah… I'll do some at nighttime and some at noon. Get a good contrast. Maybe even do some with people," she was now talking more to herself then Shikamaru.

It didn't take long for them to get to Niko's, Shikamaru keeping her talking about photography the whole way there. After they sat down she looked closely at him. "Ok, your turn to answer my questions. Why do you like cloud watching?"

"Clouds are very peaceful, free," he said. "It's calming to watch them. I'll have mackerel." He directed the last part to the waitress.

"I'll have pork," Temari said to the waitress. Shikamaru raised his eyebrows.

"I thought you didn't like squid."

"You can eat it," she said with a chuckle.

He watched her laugh. He hadn't seen her do it much, but it was unexpectedly pleasant. She caught him looking at him and glared at him.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," he said.

"You sure say that a lot," she grumbled. The food arrived and he picked the squid off her plate. They ate, keeping up a conversation mostly about photography or cloud watching or why he thinks women are troublesome. She gave up on the last one with an annoyed look at him.

After she finished she stretched her arms. "That was good," she said, cracking her neck from side to side. "Ok, lazyass," she said, using her new nickname for him. "You get to pay?"

"Why?"

"Guess," she said with a grin.

"Troublesome…"

Later…

Ino sighed as she lay back on her bed. "Bored, bored, bored," she muttered. She sat up and went over to her computer. She had to order those turnips from somewhere. She took a few minutes to look at various sites where you could order groceries from, where she finally found one that sold amounts that went into the hundreds. She ordered a few dozen crates of turnips, and turned off her computer. They wouldn't arrive for a few weeks, and then she would just have to worry about carving them.

"I need groupies," she muttered. "Groupies that could do this sort of thing."

She finally decided to call Sakura. "This is Haruno Sakura. I can't come to th—Okako, shut up!! Sorry. Anyways, I can't come to the phone right now, please leave a message."

"Saakura," Ino sang into the phone. "You seriously have to get a new message. Pick up the phone!"

"Hey Ino," Sakura said, picking the phone up. "I know, I really do need a new message, I just never get around to it. So, what's up?"

Ino sighed. "Not much. I'm so bored. Sai is busy, and I actually got all my homework done. I have nothing to doooo," she complained.

Sakura giggled. "You know, maybe being bored will be good for you."

Ino groaned. "How is it good for me? Anyways, I just wanted more info on what happened with you and Sasuke. Did you kiss yet?!"

"No we did not! We might have if we didn't crash," Sakura grumbled.

Ino made an impatient noise. "Saakura! You have to get on top of this. I swear. I bet even Hinata's been kissed before!"

"I've been kissed before!" Sakura exclaimed.

"It was an accident. He admitted it," Ino said, sounding annoyed.

Sakura hesitated. "Ok, maybe, but come on… what do you expect me to do?"

"Just, kiss him. And then, after a while, go back to his place. And then get on his couch, and kiss him and then t--"

"Ino!"

"What? There's nothing wrong with having sex! Especially if it's with a hot guy," Ino said with a snicker.

"I've only been on one date with him, isn't it a little earlier to think about sex?" Sakura asked.

"It's never to early to think about sex," Ino said with a giggle.

"So? It's not like you've had it yet," Sakura said with a laugh.

"Um… actually, that's not entirely true," Ino said.

"WHAT?! You had sex and you didn't tell _me_?!" Sakura screamed.

"Um… yeah? I'm sorry. I just never got to it."

"Who with? Sai?"

"Duh, who else?" Ino asked, sounding exasperated.

"Once?" Sakura asked.

"Um… not once."

"Twice?"

"Try… seven times."

"Oh, my _god_," Sakura exclaimed. "I can't believe you didn't tell me. Seven times?"

"Yeah. It's not that much," Ino said.

"You say to the virgin," Sakura grumbled. Ino giggled.

"Oh, yeah."

Ino heard her dad calling her. "Oops, I got to go. I'll see you tomorrow. And before you ask, yes you can tell the others."

"Thanks! Bye," Sakura said, before hanging up.

"Bye!"


	14. Hujin Ai

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Any similarities between the in story store, Hujin Ai, and any in real life is purely coincidental.**

**No ego's were harmed in the making of this Fan fic**

It was Tuesday afternoon and Sakura stood in the gym. They were listening to some more instructions for fending off attackers, but Sakura didn't really think it would do her much good. Today they were doing a whole class devoted to getting out of headlocks. Hinata stood next to her looking like she was going to pass out again. "Relax," Sakura whispered to Hinata.

Hinata looked at her. "I-I'll t-try," she murmured.

Sakura gave her a reassuring smile and walked over to the mats. She stabilized herself and leaned forwards. Sasuke carefully wrapped the arm without the cast around her neck to put her in a headlock. "Come on," Sakura said impatiently. "You're not trying."

He tightened his grip. "Better," Sakura said. She pushed back with her left arm against him, and rotated slightly as she got out. She glared at him. "You're not trying anymore," she scolded him. He rolled his eyes. "Come on," she pleaded.

"Fine," he grumbled.

After class…

Sakura toweled off after she got out of the shower. She looked over to Hinata who was putting her shirt back on. She had passed out again and had spent half the class on the bleachers. "Y'know Hinata, you could try to learn some self defense…" Sakura said. "Maybe take a Karate class."

Hinata looked up at her. "But I k-know Tai C-chi," she said. "I've b-been doing i-it since I w-was 7."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "What? But, whenever you're in class…"

Hinata blushed. "T-that's because I-I'm around N-Naruto," she mumbled.

"So… are you good?" Sakura asked Hinata as she pulled her jeans on. Hinata shrugged.

"I-I guess I a-am… it's n-nothing compared t-to what Tenten or Temari c-can do t-though."

Sakura grinned. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I've been doing Judo since I was 13, but whenever I'm around them, I can't help but feel insignificant."

Hinata giggled a little. "By the way Hinata… did I tell you what Ino told me last night?" Sakura asked with a sly smile. Hinata shook her head. "Well…" Sakura leaned towards her and whispered it into her ear.

"W-w-what?!" Hinata asked, turning so red it gave a new meaning to the word. Sakura giggled and nodded as she pulled her shirt on.

"Yep! I was shocked too." Hinata just stood there, her shoes half on. "Hinata, you ok?" Sakura asked, shaking her a little.

Hinata nodded quickly. "I-I'm f-fine, but," she looked around the locker room to make sure no one was in hearing range. "_Seven_ times?"

Sakura chuckled and grabbed her bag. They began to walk out together. "I guess, in the long run, that's not that much," Sakura said.

"S-says you…" Hinata said quietly, pulling her coat on.

They saw Sai as they walked and it took all Sakura had in her to not burst out giggling. They finally met up with the others outside. "What's wrong, Hinata?" Ino asked, throwing her hair over one shoulder.

"_Seven_ times," was all Hinata could choke out. Ino burst into a fit of giggles and Tenten and Temari rolled their eyes.

"I see you've told her," Ino said to Sakura. Then she turned to Hinata and nodded. "Seven times and counting. It would be more, but its hard when my dad's around all the time." Then she turned to Temari. "Ok, it's obvious Sakura, Hinata and Tenten are virgins."

"Ino!"

"What about you though?" Ino asked.

Tenten threw a sideways glance to Temari. "Nope," Temari said, sounding very at ease with the conversation. "I've actually done it with… several different people."

They started walking towards Ino's car. "Really?" asked Sakura. Hinata had turned red again.

Temari nodded. "It wasn't a big deal, the way we handled it," she said with a shrug, before she jumped into the back seat of the car.

The other girls got into the car to, and they started off. "Where are we going, Ino?" Sakura asked.

"The mall. I want to get some new clothes, and you guys are coming with me."

"Don't you have enough clothes?" Tenten asked.

"You can never have enough clothes."

"Oh, I beg to differ," Sakura muttered, causing snickers to erupt from Tenten and Temari.

"Ok, fine, you can never have enough to this type of clothing," Ino said testily.

They pulled into the mall parking lot after a lot of Ino swearing about the traffic, and they went in. "I do _not_ get what you see about this place," Tenten muttered. Temari nodded her agreement.

"It's a fucking nightmare."

Ino sighed. "Obviously you too are too far gone to convert, so just shut up. I think you'll like the place we're going, Temari," Ino said.

"Where are w—oh." Sakura had started to ask Ino, until she saw Ino making a beeline for Hujin Ai, a classy, yet expensive lingerie store. Temari smirked.

"Now I get what you meant about never having enough of _this_ type of clothing," Temari remarked as they walked in.

Hinata lingered by the door. "Come on, Hinata," Sakura said, pushing her in. Ino had already found her new love; a pink, black and white tartan bra with lace around the edge, and matching underwear.

"These are so cute," Ino said, picking them up. Temari snorted. "Well, what do _you_ want?" Ino asked her, sticking her tongue out.

Temari held up a pair of red embroidered panties with a matching corset that looked like something out of a historically romanticized story of medieval England. Ino whistled. "Impressive," she said.

Temari nodded, still smirking. "I know. I've actually had my eye on these for a few weeks. I am so getting them though." Sakura eyed them carefully.

"Where would you wear them too?" she asked.

Temari blinked. "I'd wear them with jeans and a jacket, or maybe to a concert. I'm actually a fan of a loosely worn corset."

Tenten chuckled. "I can see you wearing that."

Ino turned to Hinata, Tenten and Sakura. "So, found anything you want?" she asked.

Tenten held up a pair of black silk briefs. "Yep," she said, grinning.

Sakura hesitated, before walking over to a pink, lacy underwear set. Ino grinned and then turned to Hinata.

"What about you Hinata?"

Hinata shook her head fast. "Um… n-no. It's j-just a l-little too…"

Ino sighed and pulled Hinata towards the dressing rooms. "Get in," she said, pushing Hinata in. Then she grabbed a pair of panties and a bra. "Try them on," she called, throwing them over the door.

They waited outside, waiting. "Are you done yet?" Tenten called.

"Y-yes…"

"Well," Ino said. "Come out."

"W-what?"

"It's only us," Ino said, rolling her eyes.

"O-ok…"

Hinata opened the door and came out. Ino clapped her hands together.

Hinata was wearing a red bra with lace lining, and a matching bikini bottom. She shifted uncomfortably. "That is hot," was all Temari said.

Hinata blushed. "I-I don't k-know…"

Ino giggled. "It's fantastic Hinata! You look gorgeous!" Sakura and Tenten nodded their agreement.

"I g-guess I c-could g-get them…" Hinata said, hesitantly.

"You _have_ to!" Ino said. "A good pair of underwear can make anyone feel good."

"O-ok…" Hinata said, before going back in to change out of them. Sakura grinned.

"You sound more confident already, Hinata," she said.

They paid, and walked out. "God, I'm hungry," Sakura muttered, shifting the bag her things were in.

"Let's grab something then," Tenten said.

They all walked towards the food court. "By the way Tenten, where's Neji?" Temari asked.

Tenten grinned. "Probably doing whatever Karate thing he said he had to do. I convinced him I could stay out of trouble for an evening."

Ino chuckled. They had just sat down with their food when they heard someone greet them.

"Hey, girls," Naruto said, coming up with Sasuke. Hinata gave a squeak, and tried to stuff her bag under the table, but Ino stopped her with her foot.

"Hey Naruto, Sasuke," Ino said, ignoring Hinata's protests.

Sakura shifted her bag a little to put it out of Sasuke's immediate range of sight. She was a little embarrassed, but not as much as Hinata, who looked like she wanted to die.

"We were just doing a little shopping," Ino said.

Naruto leaned towards the bags. "Where?"

"None of your business," Temari said, smirking and hitting Naruto over the head. He caught sight of one of the bags and his cheeks went a little pink. Hinata started to sink down in her seat. Tenten grabbed Hinata by the arm to stop her, so Hinata just sat there, avoiding eye contact with Naruto or Sasuke.

Sasuke saw the bags and snorted, causing Tenten to throw him a look. "Well, have fun," he said, leading Naruto off.

"W-what was t-that for Ino?" Hinata exclaimed.

"You need to get a pair, Hinata. I'm sorry if that's blunt, but you can't just try and avoid everything like that," Ino said, shrugging.

"All the same, that was embarrassing," Sakura said, taking a bite of her taco.

Ino laughed. "You're telling me."

"Wait, what?" Temari asked, looking confused.

"I think he saw the bra I got."


	15. 92 Percent Chance

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Facebook**

**Any similarities between the Goshikku Kanpi Nightclub in this story and in real life are purely coincidental**

**No platform shoes were damaged in the making of this fan fic**

----

Temari groaned and rolled over on her bed. She was so bored. Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Tenten were busy and her dad wasn't letting her go out. She got off her bed and turned her laptop on. She was going to get on Facebook for a bit, when she saw something that made her double take. "Goshikku Kanpu Nightclub," she muttered, looking at the ad on Facebook. "An all ages Nightclub with 21 and up bar."

It was downtown, but all she'd have to do would be wait for her dad to go to sleep. It was open from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and from the name and detailed description, it looked like just the kind of thing she was into. She quickly formed a plan. Her dad and brother's slept like logs and were not night people, so she would go to sleep early and set her cell phone alarm for 12:30 a.m. Then when they were asleep she'd sneak out her window, and she'd be back by the time they wake up, or about 6 in the morning.

It was flawed, sure, but it had a 92 percent chance of succeeding. She shut her laptop and went downstairs. "I'm going to bed," she called down. Her dad grunted in acknowledgement. She went back upstairs and set her alarm. She put it on a low volume but placed it by her pillow so she would hear it. Then she changed into her pajamas and got into bed. "Here's to plans succeeding," she muttered, before turning her light out.

12:30 a.m…

Temari woke up right when the alarm went off and she shoved the phone under her pillow, before turning the alarm on it off. She listened carefully to see if anyone had heard it, but as per usual they were still sleeping. She smirked and climbed out of bed. She stuffed some pillows in it to look like her incase anyone came in, and she padded over to her closet. She opened it and got out the corset she had purchased earlier, a pair of red and black striped stockings that she had to clip onto a garter belt, a set of black petticoats that went down to her upper-mid thigh, a black lace choker, and a pair of black, fingerless, elbow length lace gloves.

She held the corset up and looked at it again. _'I should make sure to get this fitted,' _she thought with a grin. She put it on, examining herself in the mirror. It wasn't designed to cinch the waist, but as a piece of lingerie. It had a red satin base, with black lace over it, and black laces. The edges and the top of the corset had a fringe of black lace as well. Then she pulled the stockings on. They had a few strategically placed holes, and she clipped them onto the corset. Then she put on the petticoats. They actually went on a little under the edge of the corset, and they were made of a gauzy material.

She brushed her hair quickly, and tied it up into her usual 4 pigtails, but she used long black ribbons to tie it up. Then she lined her eyes with kohl, and put on lipstick that was practically blood red. She put the lipstick in her purse, and pulled the gloves and choker on. Then she grabbed a pair of knee high black platforms, and tucked them under her arms. She checked her appearance in the mirror, before slipping on a pair of slippers and opening her window. She carefully climbed out, and closed the window mostly. Then she grabbed onto the pillar below the window ledge, and climbed down it, careful not to rip or tear anything. She landed silently and put the platforms on, leaving the slippers by the pillar.

She strutted out of the yard and down the street. She would have to catch the bus, but she could handle that. She walked to the bus stop and got on the bus, which arrived after a few minutes of waiting. She got a few looks, but she brushed them off. She felt extremely empowered at the moment. It was about half an hour before they arrived in downtown, but the nightclub was by one of the first stops once they got there.

She got off the bus and walked up to the entrance. There was no need to use a fake I.D. seeing as it was all ages so she just had to pay. She sauntered into the club. "Oh, my god," she whispered. The club was full of pulsating lights, electronic music, and bodies dancing. Most everyone was dressed like she was, and the music was exactly like the kind she listened to at home.

Within' minutes she had begun dancing. She swayed with the crowd; the energy from everyone creating a kind of buzz that excited her. She flirted with her eyes, switching between dance partners as she moved through the crowd.

She lost track of time, only stopping dancing to get some water. She realized that at least two hours had past when her feet started aching. She walked over to a table set off to the side and sat down, watching everyone and basking in the red and blue flashing lights. She saw something off to the side and turned her head quickly. It looked like pineapple hair, and it was moving towards her. "What?" she asked.

It turned out to be a girl, but she looked so similar to Shikamaru it was startling. She wore her hair similarly, one of the only differences being the fact she kept two parts of hair down on either side of her face. She was holding a drink and looking for an empty table. To Temari's shock she walked up to her. "Excuse me, but do you mind if I sit here?" she asked, motioning to the empty seat at Temari's small circular table. Temari shook her head.

"I don't," she said, looking at the woman. She was older then her, she could tell that much. She wore a blood red corset and matching short shorts that Temari suspected was really extra frilly boy shorts. She also had on thigh high red boots and red gloves that went up to above her elbow. She wore makeup similar to Temari's and had pearls wrapped around her neck. She sat down across from Temari and sipped her drink.

"Nara Tori," she said, sticking her hand out.

"Subaku no Temari," Temari said in response, shaking Tori's hand. "Would you happen to be related to Nara Shikamaru?" Temari asked.

Tori snorted. "That little bugger? Yeah, I'm his cousin. I'm in town for a while actually. Never mentioned me did he?" Temari smirked and shook her head. "Little wanker," Tori muttered.

Temari let out a bark of laughter. "I know what you're talking about. Sometimes I just want to smack him. Occasionally I do just that."

Tori grinned. "Good for you." She took another sip of her drink. "So, anyways, how do you know Shikamaru?" she asked.

"I go to school with him."

Tori accidentally inhaled some of her drink. "Wait, you're still in high school?" she asked.

"Um, yeah," said Temari. "Why?"

"You seem older then you are," Tori responded.

Temari shrugged. "I've been told that before."

Tori smirked and crossed her legs. "So. How do you like my cousin?"

Temari's cheeks turned slightly pink. Tori noticed and cackled. "Oh, is that right?" she asked. "Well, it could do him good to get a girlfriend who won't take any shit."

Temari sunk down a little in her seat. "I think it's a little early to consider 'girlfriend'," she muttered.

Tori raised her eyebrows. "Oh is it?"

Temari sighed and leaned forwards on the table, crossing her legs. "You could say that. All he calls me is 'troublesome woman'…"

Tori grinned. "Really? Wow. Normally he'd just say your name in an annoyed tone. He must be rather fond of you."

"Are you kidding me?" Temari asked.

Tori shook her head and stood. "I have to go bring this back," she said, motioning to her empty glass. "By the way, where did you get your corset?"

Temari grinned. "Hujin Ai. They have some pretty good stuff there."

Tori laughed. "Arigato. See you around."

She walked off and Temari got up and walked back to the dance floor. She had some stuff to consider.

It was 5:20-ish when Temari finally stumbled out of the club. She went over to the bus stop, and waited for 25 minutes for the bus to come. Now she was nervous. She had fifteen minutes to get back home and into her bed before her dad woke up. Finally, after 10 minutes Temari gave up and decided to run. She got off of the bus and started to run the remaining mile. Until she decided to cut the distance in half by doing a little trespassing that is. "This is not the time to be wearing these shoes…" Temari muttered, wincing.

She got too her house with only seconds to spare and, grabbing her slippers, pulled herself up outside of her window. She lifted the window open as quietly as she could and slid in. She then closed it behind her, before pulling her boots off. She got undressed as quickly as she could without waking anyone, and dived into her bed. She let out a sigh of relief as she heard her dad's alarm clock ring.

"Did you really think I was stupid enough to fall for that?" Gaara asked, stepping out from behind her door.

'_Fuck.'_


	16. Sex Crazy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Sprite**

**No sleep cycles were damaged in the making of this Fan Fic**

Tenten was listening to her iPod as she walked to school. Her mom had caved and let her walk today, so Tenten was listening to her workout playlist again. "'Cause I'm trouble… yeah trouble now," Tenten sang under her breath as she got to school. As per usual she met up with Neji and they walked into school together.

Sakura, Ino and Hinata were already in homeroom when Tenten came in. "Hey Tenten," Ino said. "Have you seen Temari?"

Tenten frowned. "No, I haven't. Maybe she's just running late."

"Speak of the devil," Sakura said, as Temari stumbled in. Gaara was behind her, and both looked annoyed. Temari also looked tired. "Hey Temari," Sakura said.

Temari looked up, and they saw bags under her eyes. "H-hi," she said, stifling a yawn. She threw Gaara a look and he went back to his seat.

"Jeezus Temari, you look like shit," Tenten said.

"Three hours of sleep will do that to you," Temari said.

"W-what do you m-mean, Temari?" Hinata asked.

"Well, I snuck out last n-night," Temari said. "Then Gaara found out. I am going to be so screwed if he tells dad."

She sat down with a sigh and put her head on her desk. "Wake me when class starts," she said, before she drifted off. Sakura sighed and shook her head.

At lunch…

"_Could you give this to Temari?" Tori had asked Shikamaru, holding up a black ribbon._

"_How do you know Temari?" Shikamaru asked, sighing._

"_I met her at Goshikku Kanpu Nightclub last night. She forgot this," Tori said. Shikamaru took it and stuffed it in his pocket._

"_Oh, and tell her hi for me."_

Shikamaru had forgotten to give it to Temari in English, so he decided to do it now. She was asleep at her table at lunch, but he walked over anyways. The other's stared at him as he walked up, and he shook Temari on the shoulder.

"Fuck! What is it?" Temari snapped as she woke up. Shikamaru held her hair ribbon out to her. "Where did you get this? I thought I lost it!" Temari said, taking it.

"Tori asked me to give it back to you," he said, sounding bored.

"Oh… arigato," she said, looking tired. He raised his eyebrow.

"How long were you out there anyways?" he asked.

"Until 5:20-ish," Temari said, sounding annoyed.

He rolled his eyes. "Troublesome…" he said, before walking off. Temari blushed, remembering what Tori had said to her last night.

"What is it?" Tenten asked, looking amused as she sucked down her drink.

Temari told them what Tori had told her and Ino clapped her hands together looking thrilled. "This is _fantastic_!" she said, causing a few people at nearby tables to throw her a look. Ino quieted her voice. "I can't believe all my plans for you girls are working out so well," she said, her voice filled with glee. She turned to look at Hinata. "Now we just have to get you together with Naruto, which is already working out fine."

Hinata blushed a little, but just kept eating. "So Sakura," Temari said. "When are you going out with Sasuke again?"

Sakura smiled. "We're going out tonight… I don't know where though."

"Niko Bento is good," Temari commented, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Oh, I've never been there," Sakura said.

"I've been there a couple times with Shikamaru."

Ino sat up. "Wait, you were out on a date with him and you didn't tell me?!"

"It wasn't a date Ino," Temari said, rolling her eyes.

"Were you two alone?"

"Um, yeah," Temari said, sipping her drink.

"Did he pay?"

"He paid the last time," Temari said, crossing her legs.

"Then it was a date!" Ino said, looking triumphant.

"Oh please. I seriously doubt he thought of it that way," Temari said, raising an eyebrow.

"He's a guy. I've found, there is one thing guys think of when they see a sexy girl that makes them want to think of every time like that as a date," Ino said with a smirk

"What, dateable?" Sakura asked.

'Fuckable,' Ino mouthed, winking. Sakura choked.

"You've obviously not been with the right guys," Sakura muttered. Tenten started chuckling and Hinata blushed.

"Oh really? Are you saying Sasuke hasn't thought about having sex with you yet?" Ino said, a little to loud for Sakura's liking.

"I-I don't know what he is thinking!" Sakura protested. "But there is no way every guy is like that!"

"I'm not saying _every_ guy," Ino said, rolling her eyes. "But Sasuke seems like the type that would think about that." Sakura blushed. "Don't worry, it doesn't mean that's the only thing he thinks about."

"I sure hope not," Sakura said. Tenten kept laughing.

"That goes for you too Tenten," Ino said with a sly grin.

Tenten stopped laughing.

That night…

Sakura was wearing a pink skirt and light green leggings that ended mid-calf. She also had a grey sweater on, and she had kept her hair down as per usual. They had agreed to meet at Niko's seeing as Sasuke's car was still being repaired and his wrist wasn't completely healed. She sat on the bus, watching everything go by outside the window. She liked watching the scenery. It was peaceful.

She got off a few blocks away from Niko's and found Sasuke waiting for her. "Konichiwa, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, smiling.

"Hey."

They walked together towards the restaurant, Sakura unconsciously looping her arm through Sasuke's after a little while. They walked in silence again, but they were both completely comfortable with it. "So, have you been here before?" Sasuke asked Sakura. Sakura shook her head.

"Nope. Temari told me it was good. What about you?" Sakura asked. He shook his head. Sakura grinned. "Well, Temari has high standards of food so it can't be that bad," she said as they arrived.

They walked inside and took a seat at a table by the window. "Konichiwa," the waitress said, putting down two menus. "Can I get you two started with something to drink?"

"Um, could I have a Sprite please?" Sakura asked.

"I'll have some green tea," Sasuke said. The waitress nodded and walked off. Sakura opened the menu.

"Ooh, they have anko dumplings in syrup!" Sakura said, taking a peek at the desert page. She continued flipping through. Sasuke had decided on what he wanted and watched her drool over the various dishes with an amused expression. "Ok," she said, closing the menu and smiling at him. "What are you getting?" she asked him, taking a sip of her water.

"The beef bento," Sasuke said.

"Oh that one looked good… I'm getting the tofu bento though. I love grilled tofu. Almost as much as anko dumplings," she was starting to babble. She knew it, but she was still thinking about what Ino had said about men and sex. She fiddled with the paper napkin on the table, absentmindedly tearing little pieces off as she kept talking about anko dumplings and grilled tofu. Sasuke looked at her with one eyebrow raised.

This continued, except for a short break when they were ordering, and then Sakura started up again.

"Sakura," Sasuke interrupted, partway through her profession of her love for the syrup you put on anko dumplings. "What's wrong?"

Sakura blushed. "Um, nothing. Why do you ask?"

"Because you are babbling," he said, quite bluntly even for him.

Sakura turned redder. "I am? I didn't notice."

"Sakura," he said, giving her a look. She sighed.

"Ok… I am going to ask you a question, that hopefully you won't answer truthfully." She took a deep breath. "Do you want to have sex with me?"

Sasuke blinked, his face slowly turning red. Sakura stared at him, so embarrassed by what she had blurted out she thought he would die. It was when he didn't answer that her face flushed like a tomato.

Sakura squeaked. "Omigod… Ino was right. She was right," she moaned.

He blinked again. "Among other things…" he said.

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean 'among other things'?"

"I mean, wait, what exactly did Ino say about me?" he asked, looking annoyed.

"She… she said that you were the type of guy who when he saw a hot girl he thought he would like having sex with her…" Sakura said, taking a sip of water to cool herself off.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Listen, I am not going to deny that I think that way, but only with some people."

"Like me?"

"That's not the reason I asked you out or kissed you."

"You never kissed me," Sakura said.

"I know," he said, before leaning over and kissing her on the mouth. The fact that most people in the restaurant would most likely be staring at them didn't seem to compute in Sakura's mind. In fact, the only thing she could concentrate on was kissing Sasuke back. And he was a very could kisser. He put one of his hands up on her cheek to pull her towards him and deepen the kiss more.

An 'ahem' from the waitress bringing them their food made them break apart. Sakura gulped down most of her water, her face brick red. "A-arigato," she said to the waitress as she set her bento down. Sasuke chuckled.

"Embarrassed?" he asked, taking a bite of his bento.

She threw him a look. "A little."

"Huh."

"Um… not that I minded," she said quietly.

He chuckled.

An hour or two later…

They got a cab to get back to Sasuke's house, with a stop at Sakura's to drop her off. They spent most of the time in the backseat of the cab kissing.

They arrived at Sakura's a little too soon for Sakura, but as she was getting out of the car, Sasuke pulled her towards him and kissed her again. His tongue slid into her mouth, and Sakura gave a small squeak, before kissing him again. They kept the kiss going for a minute or too, finally breaking apart when the cabby looked back, confused, and snorted.

Sakura stumbled back a little, still tasting the kiss in her mouth. "G-good night," she said, before walking up to her house. She grinned as she got inside and took the stairs three at a time.

"Ino!" she exclaimed after she called her friend. "You are about to have your ambitions for me fulfilled."


	17. You're My Inspiration

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**No napkins were harmed in the making of this Fan Fiction**

----

Ino sat in Hinata's room with her, Sakura and Temari. Tenten was at school prepping for the game, and the others were planning on going once they had 'completely maximized Hinata's hotness', as Ino put it. Hinata was wearing a gray mini skirt Ino had brought her, black tights that went down to her ankles, a dusty blue tank top, and a green sweater. Ino had wanted her to wear a jean jacket and a scarf instead, but Hinata was too self-conscious not too wear a sweater over the tank top. Ino was trying to convince her to wear some more makeup.

"Come _on_, Hinata," Ino said, holding up a tube. "It's just some lip liner and gloss… and mascara and eyes liner… and eye shadow, but still. All you normally wear is a little lip balm and some shadow on your eyes. It's time to show Naruto what you've got!" Ino said. Ino herself was wearing pink fishnets with sports shorts over them, a red tank top in their schools colors with a sports jacket over it, and had a streak of red on each cheek.

Hinata shook her head. Ino sighed. "Just the mascara and eye liner then. Please?" Hinata sighed.

"F-fine…" Ino grinned triumphantly and began to put the mascara on. Temari and Sakura watched with amused expressions.

"By the way Sakura," said Temari. "How did your date go last night?" Sakura blushed. "Oh, my god," Temari said, sounding excited. "Did you guys make out?"

"A little," Sakura admitted. "It was fantastic," she said, smiling as she remembered it. Hinata gave her a smile back, a little strained as Ino started lining her eyes lightly with black.

"I am so thrilled about it," said Ino. "That means Sakura and Tenten have boyfriends, and Temari and Hinata are well on their way. My karma is so rockin' right now."

She stepped back from Hinata. "Ok, I'm done!" Hinata stood up nervously, her eyes now more defined and even bigger then they were before. Temari clapped.

"You look gorgeous," Sakura said earnestly. Hinata gave them both grateful smiles. Ino clapped her hands together.

"Ok! To the game!"

At the soccer game…

"Shithead cut me off," Ino muttered as they pulled into the school parking lot. Temari snorted and shook her head.

"Don't worry about it Ino…" Sakura said soothingly. Ino sighed and turned the car off.

"B-by the way Ino… w-weren't you going t-to try out for c-cheerleading again this y-year?" Hinata asked as they got out of the car and walked towards the field. Ino sighed.

"I was thinking about it, but all of those cheerleaders are so vile this year. It's amazing," she said, flicking something off of one of her fingernails. She shrugged. "I'm not going to waste my time with it. Besides, this means more parties," she said, laughing.

"Oh Ino," Sakura said, giggling. They walked towards the bleachers. They were already filled with people. Everyone was milling around and chatting as people slowly poured in. Ino spotted Naruto and nudged Hinata.

"Have fun," Ino said, winking and pulling the other two off so she could go find Sai. Hinata swallowed and walked towards Naruto, who looked like he was looking for someone.

K-konichiwa, N-Naruto-kun," she said, smiling at him. He looked at her when he heard her and his face broke out into a grin.

"Hey Hinata-chan," he said. She clasped her hands behind her back, blushing. He looked at her. "Something wrong?"

"N-no, Naruto-kun," she said, forcing herself not to stutter when she said his name. She hesitantly linked her arm through his, shocked by her ability to do it without Ino telling her too. He seemed a little surprised to, but he didn't say anything, and they started to move towards the bleachers. "So, Hinata-chan, how are you?" he asked.

"I'I-m good, Naruto-kun," she said. "I spent some t-time with Ino today. By the w-way, how is y-your homework g-going? I know w-we talked about it y-yesterday but I just w-wanted to make sure…"

"It's going good," he said with a laugh. "You're a good teacher."

She blushed. "A-arigato, Naruto-kun."

It took a little while before Hinata started opening up again, and when she did, she completely forgot that she should have been embarrassed. She was still stuttering, but not as much as before. Then the game started. She was a little disappointed, but she put that aside while the game started.

A few hours later…

It was dark by the time the game was over. Konoha had won by a little, and everyone was planning on celebrating by going to an after-game party at one of the player's house. Hinata and Naruto decided to go, so they walked over. They talked about a few things. Mainly Naruto talked, but Hinata liked listening.

By the time they got to the party someone had started a fire in the pit in the back yard. A few people sat around it, and Naruto and Hinata went over to as well. Hinata rubbed her hands in front of the fire. It was chillier out now that it was autumn, and Hinata's sweater wasn't doing much for her. Naruto took his coat off and put it over her shoulders. "Arigato, N-Naruto-kun," she said, blushing a little. She looked a little strange with a large leather trench coat on, but she didn't care. Unfortunately someone else did. They grabbed Naruto from behind and pulled him up.

"Didn't you hear me the first time, Uzumaki?" Neji snarled. Hinata gasped and turned around, looking up. _'Where's Tenten?'_ Hinata thought, looking around frantically. Tenten was nowhere in sight though.

Naruto shoved Neji away from him. "I'll need a few more reminders," he said in a taunting tone. Everyone around him started to back away from the fire. Neji moved back towards Naruto, and Naruto seemed to try and stabilize himself.

"Neji, s-stop it," Hinata said, as she started to stand up. Naruto pushed Hinata back.

"Stay out of this Hinata," Neji said. Neji turned his attention back to Naruto. "I've told you before, stay the fuck away from my cousin," Neji said.

"Maybe you should let Hinata decide for herself," Naruto said. "Or are you too worried she'd pick me over you?" he asked, smirking.

Neji started towards Naruto again and Naruto seemed to move to meet him. Neji punched Naruto in the nose, before Naruto kneed him in the stomach. Hinata looked between the two of them, and ran forwards, grabbing Naruto and trying to pull him back. "Stop!" she yelled. Both Neji and Naruto looked at her. She positioned herself between both of them. "This is my life Neji," Hinata said, looking at Neji. "You can't control it like this."

Naruto stared at Hinata and broke into a grin, even though his nose was bleeding. "What?" Neji spat. "Hinata, didn't you get what I told you before? Nothing good comes from being around Naruto."

Hinata shook her head. "I don't care," she exclaimed. "I'm not going to let you hurt him!"

Hinata saw Tenten run out of the house out of the corner of her eye, but she gave all her attention to Naruto and Neji. Neji was still staring at her. Hinata just stared him in the eye though. She felt stronger then she had in ages. "Please, Neji-sama, just leave us alone," she said.

She saw Tenten moving closer a little, but her friend was giving Hinata space for herself. Hinata kept looking at her cousin, before he walked away. She felt like she had been deprived of air so she breathed in a few huge gulps of it before turning around to face Naruto. He was grinning down at her. "That was amazing Hinata, you didn't even stutter," Naruto said, ignoring his nose.

"Naruto-kun, your n-nose," Hinata said. He realized there was blood dripping down his face and he groaned, grabbing a napkin he had used to eat something with earlier and pinched his nose with it.

"By the way Hinata, what made you do that? You didn't have to," Naruto said.

Hinata looked down. "I t-think I kind of did… and y-you deserve some of the credit," she said, before looking back up at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, blinking.

"Naruto, its because of y-you I was able to finally stand up for myself. Y-you never seem to let anyone tell y-you what to do… y-you're always so confident… it's inspiring," she said.

He just stared at her. She felt her cheeks growing warmer and she looked around. No one was there anymore. Not even Tenten. She heard something and saw him laughing. "I can't believe you think of me that way," he said. "I'm not someone people normally look up too," he said.

"Well… I-I do," she said. He looked down at her, and suddenly he was kissing her. Hinata thought she had gone into shock. She got over it quickly though, and was soon kissing him back. Her arms circled his neck as her eyes closed. She felt his arms going around her waist, pulling her a little closer to her, as they kept kissing. Naruto pulled back a little soon for Hinata and they just looked at each other.

"Oh…" was all she said, before she kissed him again.


	18. Good Music, Better Company

**I do not own Naruto or Sharada**

**Sadly, several MP3's were sacrificed to make this Fan Fic.**

----

"I kissed a girl and I liked it," Temari sung under her breath as she jogged through the streets of Konoha. She was listening to her MP3 player as she ran. She didn't like running much, so she used music to make her forget she was actually running. She didn't know where she was anymore, but she was pretty sure she wasn't lost.

"Shit," she muttered, taking her earbuds out. "I'm lost." She looked around and saw she was surrounded by various expensive looking houses, but she was pretty sure she was not near where she lived. "Gogatsu Street," she said, looking at the street sign. Nothing she had ever heard of. She shook her head.

"Hey miss, you lookin' for something?" Temari spun around when she heard a voice. A group of boys, around her age walked, no, swaggered over to her. She raised an eyebrow.

"Um, no, thanks though." She picked a random direction and started walking towards it.

"You sure?" one of them asked, a smirk on his face. Temari grimaced.

"Pos-i-tive," she said, sounding out each syllable.

"Temari, is that you?"

Temari turned around and saw Tori walking towards her. She smiled at her and smirked at the boys. "Hey Tori."

Tori walked over, giving the boys a look that made them slink away. "What are you doing here? I didn't think you lived near here."

Temari shook her head. "I don't. I was jogging and I got a little off track. What about you."

Tori grinned and pointed to a house a little ways away. "That's the place I'm staying at." She looked over Temari. "Want to come in for some food or something. You look really hungry."

Temari grinned and smiled in relief. "That would rock. Gaara's cooking sucks. Just like mine."

They both started to walk up towards the house. "So you like running?" Tori asked.

Temari shook her head. "I actually kind of hate it, but its good exercise," she said with a shrug.

Tori snorted as they walked in. "Aunt Yoshino," Tori yelled, as Temari looked around the big house. "Mind having one more for dinner?"

"No!" a voice yelled back. Temari chuckled and wandered into the next room. She got onto the couch, lying down with her legs hanging over the arm of the chair.

"I'm going to go check something upstairs," Tori said, before leaving. Temari kicked her legs up and down as she rested.

"Tori, what are you doing?"

Temari stuck her head up and saw a man standing there. The resemblance to Shikamaru was striking, but he was taller, a little more muscular, had a beard and some scars on his face. He raised his eyebrows when he saw her. "Who are you?" he asked.

She stopped swinging her legs. "Subaku no Temari," she said, sticking her hand out. "Um, Tori invited me in."

He shrugged, shook her hand and then went to sit down in a chair. "Nara Shikaku," he said. "So Subaku no Temari, you visiting Tori or something?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nope, I was out jogging and Tori saw me. I actually go to school with laz-- Shikamaru," she said, correcting herself as she almost used her new nickname for him.

He chuckled. "Really, you two going out or something?" he asked.

Temari coughed. "Not in the least."

Tori came back in. "Oh, so you've met Uncle Shikaku then," she said, leaning against the couch. Temari nodded. "So, where's Shikamaru anyways?" Tori asked.

"Check the roof," was all Shikaku said. Tori rolled her eyes and walked outside. She winced as she heard Tori shriek, '_SHIKAMARU!!'_

"I'm right here," a voice said from the stairs. Tori came inside looking surprised.

"Where were you?" she asked, shutting the door.

"Upstairs," he said, walking into the room. Temari had lifted herself onto the back of the couch, and sat there facing Shikamaru, her legs crossed. "What are you doing here?" he asked rudely.

Temari smacked him on the shoulder. "Jeez, I'm here for dinner," she grumbled. "So that means I'm a guest and you have to be polite. Lazyass," she added the last part as an afterthought. Tori laughed, as did a woman standing in the doorway. Temari looked over at her. She had dark hair and was rather thin, one hand planted on her hip.

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru muttered. His mom glared at him and Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pockets, looking bored. Temari slid off the couch as the woman walked over.

"Nara Yoshino," she said, shaking Temari's hand.

"Subaku no Temari," Temari said with a grin on her face. She was starting to feel a little self conscious about wearing a sweatshirt and a pair of yoga pants, but she ignored the feeling. No one seemed to care.

"I just wanted to say dinner's ready," Yoshino said, walking back into the dining room. Temari followed, along with Tori, Shikaku and Shikamaru. Tori steered her towards a seat, and Temari sat down in it, scooting it in as she did. Yoshino brought out the food as they were sitting down.

There were bowls of miso, grilled salmon, rice, tofu and pickled vegetables. Simple, yet it smelled delicious. Temari normally was the one cooking for herself and her brothers, but everyone in her family sucked at cooking so if she wanted good food she would either get take-out or go out to eat.

Temari savored everything she ate. "This is fantastic," she said, trying for once to not talk with her mouth full and therefore offend Yoshino. Yoshino smiled at her.

"Thank you. It's really nothing special."

"I beg to differ," Temari muttered. Shikamaru caught what she said and smirked. Temari supposed he remembered her cooking in home ec. She smiled a little too sweetly at him and said, "Shikamaru, would you get me some more water," she said, before downing the full glass in front of her and holding it out to him. He raised an eyebrow, before sighing and taking it.

Tori shook her head with a smile from across the table. Temari kept eating, a look of innocence on her face the whole time. Shikamaru came back in, setting the glass down in front of her. Temari grabbed it and gulped down half of it before smirking at Shikamaru. "Arigato, Shika-_kun_."

He choked on his rice. She didn't know why, but she was getting a perverse pleasure out of embarrassing him. "W-what did you say?" he spluttered.

She took a bite of her fish before responding. "What do you mean?" she asked, a huge smirk on her face. She could hear Tori attempting to hold back her laughter and failing. She also could see Shikaku and Yoshino chuckling silently.

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. Temari meanwhile had finished eating. "Arigato," she said, smiling at Yoshino. Tori stood up and grabbed Temari's dishes.

"Hey Shikamaru, can you drive Temari home?" Tori asked. She looked at Temari with an apologetic look. "I would, but I have a show."

Shikamaru nodded, standing slowly. He looked down at Temari. She cracked her neck at stood as well. "Alright. Thanks again for the food, it was divine."

Yoshino nodded. "We would love it if you would stop by again."

Temari smiled. "That would be fantastic."

They both walked outside to the Shikamaru's car. It was an old ford, with green paint. She climbed in, closing the door behind her. He got in as well. "Where do you live?" he asked.

"1847 Naifu street," she said. He nodded, and started driving. "Mind if I put on some music?" Temari asked with a grin.

"No."

She rolled her eyes and plugged in her MP3 player. She put on the next song. "Sharada, sharada," she sung as the song started. She turned the volume up. "Do you always keep it that low?" she asked.

He looked at her with a smirk. "Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "I prefer non-background music when I am listening to music."

She looked out of the window of the truck and sighed. "I should start a band," she muttered. He looked over at her, a vague look of interest on his face.

"You play an instrument?" he asked.

"She can't get to bed, sharada sharada, she's got the song stuck in her head…" Temari sung under her breath, before she nodded. "I sing. I can also play the piano and the violin. I used to have a band in Suna. Then I moved." She sighed again before grinning. "That's something else I like, music. It's so therapeutic."

He nodded his agreement. "That's it," Temari said, pointing towards her house. They pulled up and Temari smirked at Shikamaru. "See you tomorrow," she said.

"You forgot your MP3 player," he said.

She stepped out of the truck and grinned. "Keep it overnight. It has some good stuff on it." She looked back at him. "Night, Shika-_kun_," she said with a cackle before going up to her house. He caught himself staring after her.

"Troublesome," he muttered, restarting his truck.


	19. Family Problems

**I do not own Naruto**

**No MP3's were harmed as they were drained of power in this Fan Fic**

----

"I am telling you, we have to do it on Friday or they will rot by Saturday," Ino said as she set her tray down on the table.

Sakura sighed. "Alright, I can do Friday. Are the radishes here already?"

Ino nodded. "They delivered on time, thank god."

Temari chuckled. "I can do Friday too."

"Me tfoo," Tenten said, speaking through her pasta.

"I-I can as w-well," Hinata said, picking at her salad. She and Naruto had decided to keep their relationship on the down low for a while, so none of Hinata's other friends knew… though Hinata was sure Ino would figure it out soon enough.

"Hey," Temari said casually, sipping her generic high sugar drink. "Do any of you play instruments?"

"Oh yeah," Tenten said, swallowing. "I play guitar."

"Bass," said Hinata quietly.

"I'm a keyboard type of girl," Sakura said with a smile.

"Um… I play drums," Ino said.

Temari stared at her. "Seriously?" she asked.

Ino nodded. "Yep," she said, making an extra popping sound on the 'p'. "What about you Temari?"

Temari was looking suitably impressed. She had never pegged Ino for a drums kind of girl. "I sing mostly, but I can play the piano and the violin."

"Awesome-ness," said Sakura, grinning as she started peeling her banana.

"So why do you ask?" Tenten asked, jiggling her foot.

Temari shrugged. "I was thinking of getting some girls together to jam. Never thought I would only have to look as far as my girls."

Hinata smiled. "I-it would be n-nice to have some more p-people to play with."

"When you say jam, are you also thinking like getting a band together or something?" Sakura asked.

"You read my mind," Temari said, tossing her head back. Tenten grinned.

"Well I am all for it. It sucks to be playing by yourself in your room."

Sakura took a bite of her banana. "What Tenten said, only I can only play in the basement."

Ino clapped her hands together, her signature move. "Yay's! We can do it at my house… seeing as I really can't move my drum kit. What do you say Hinata."

"A-alright," Hinata said, smiling faintly.

"Bitchin'," Temari said with a triumphant grin.

After school…

"Aren't they _fabulous_?" Ino asked, practically beaming as she looked at the pictures in front of them. They were at the opening to a new art gallery and some of Sai's artwork had been featured. Sakura grinned at her friend as Ino stood next to her, glomped onto her and Tenten's arms. Temari and Hinata were also there, and were all 'oohing' and 'aahing' as appropriate.

One of the pictures was one of Ino, facing something behind her as she walked down the steps outside school. Ino had been shocked when she saw it seeing as she didn't even know he had done that one. "Where is Sai anyways?" Tenten asked, scanning the crowd.

"I don't know," Ino said, looking so disappointed that they all decided to go track him down.

Sakura and Ino wove in and out of the crowd. They were passing the stairs that lead to the second story when someone crashed into Sakura. "What the--" she said, stumbling into Ino.

She looked up at the guy who had crashed into her and held back a gasp. He looked almost exactly like Sasuke, the only differences really being the length of his hair, and the bags under his eyes. Even his eyes were the same color. "S-sorry," she said, looking away quickly. Ino was watching her with a curious look.

"What are you doing Itachi?" A guy… well, Sakura couldn't actually tell until he got closer, said walking up to Itachi with an annoyed look. He had very long blonde hair, and looked a little like Ino might if she was the opposite gender.

"Sorry," Itachi said, partially to Sakura, partially to the other guy. "What Deidara?" he said to the guy.

Deidara and Ino were looking at each other with slightly horrified expressions though. "Oh my gawd," Ino said a little loudly, before she dragged Sakura off.

"What is it Ino?" Sakura asked, trying to get her mind off of the guy named Itachi.

"I can't believe Deidara is back in Konoha. I can't believe he had the guts," she growled.

"Deidara?" Sakura asked, confused.

Ino shifted uncomfortably. "We kind of dated last year, even though he was like, way to old for me. I mean, he was like, 18. Anyway he was a masochistic pig, so we broke up," she said, biting her lip.

Sakura stared at her. "You dated him?"

Ino nodded. "Yeah…"

"Jeezus Christ, Ino."

Upstairs…

Temari was scanning the crowd for Sai. "Fuck," she muttered.

"Hidan, you're going to get thrown out if you keep trying to feel every girl in here up," came a voice from behind Temari. She looked around, and spotted a guy with a weird mask and a harassed look talking to some guy. The one named Hidan had sleeked back silver hair, and was pretty muscular. Temari raised her eyebrows, allowing herself a second to check him out before she turned back to look for Sai.

"So now you like painting too?"

Temari turned around and saw Shikamaru behind her. She could see Choji a little ways away and she shook her head a little. "Not as much as photography. Why are you here? I never thought of you as artsy."

"Ino told me to come," Shikamaru said, sounding tired. Temari chuckled.

"What, she got you whipped?" she asked, an evil smirk on her face.

He gave her a look. "Thankfully not yet," he said, leaning against an empty bit of wall.

"Have you seen Sai?" Temari asked, looking around again.

He shook his head. "I think he was coming late. Something about detention."

Temari groaned. "Great. Ino'll be thrilled," Temari said.

"This may cheer you up," Shikamaru said, handing her her MP3 back.

She snorted. "Arigato, Shika-kun," she said, taking it from him. "You drained the battery," she said, glaring at him.

He shrugged. "You said listen. I listened."

"And you didn't bother to turn it off… lazyass," she growled. She saw the silver haired guy approaching them from the side. She wasn't so keen on getting hit on just then, so she tried to ignore him.

"This guy bothering you?" Hidan asked, a smirk on his face.

"What the fuck are you doing here Hidan?"

"Ahhh, Nara."

Temari looked between Shikamaru and the Hidan guy with a confused look. "Um, what's with the death glares?" she asked, positioning herself between them.

"Temari, I'd like you to meet our neighborhood sadist, Hidan."

With Sakura…

Ino had disappeared into the crowd, so Sakura sat on a bench. She vaguely registered someone sitting on the bench by her. "Oh, you're that girl."

She looked up and saw Itachi. She blinked. "Um, yeah."

He just turned away, staring at a picture in front of him. Sakura bit her lip.

"Hey Sakura." She looked up and saw Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun," she said, smiling as she stood up. Sasuke kissed her firmly on the lips, something Sakura hadn't been expecting seeing as he didn't seem to be a fan of PDA. She enjoyed it though. "K-Karin may not like that if she saw us," Sakura said, catching her breath from the kiss.

He rolled his eyes. "And I care why?"

She shrugged. "I don't care either." She sat back down, and Sasuke sat next to her, and Sakura automatically scooted closer towards him as she stretched her arms in front of her. "Hey Sasuke, is that guy related to you are something, he looks so like you," she said, jerking her thumb towards the guy named Itachi. Sasuke stiffed and looked pointedly away.

"Is something wrong?" Sakura asked, trailing off at the end when she noticed his look, which bordered on furious.

"That is my brother, Itachi," he said, his voice sounding strained.

"Oh, no wonder he looked so similar," she said, glancing at Itachi before looking back at Sasuke. She saw a muscle in his jaw jumping and his expression was the same as before. "Sasuke?" she asked, sounding a little alarmed.

"My brother and I are not on the… best of terms," Sasuke said, his voice tainted with anger.

Sakura looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Sasuke said, glaring at Sakura. "My brother and I do not get along at all."

She shrunk away from him a little when he glared at her, and looked away. He didn't apologize, and they sat there in silence, Sakura not wanting to say anything, and Sasuke not either.

"Sakura, there you are. Come on, I found this great picture," Ino said, pulling Sai, who had evidently just arrived, with her. Sakura stood, feeling grateful to move away from Sasuke.

"Where is it?"


	20. Pot go Boom

**I do not own Naruto**

**No pots were harmed in the making of this Fan Fiction**

**Twentieth Chappie! Whee!!**

----

Tenten patted Temari's arm awkwardly. "Um, how could you have known he was a…. sadist?" she asked, a weak grin.

Temari had been fuming ever since the gallery yesterday, when she had lost her temper at both Hidan and Shikamaru. She didn't really know why, she had just suddenly been struck with a wave of rage from what Shikamaru had told her. "It's just so annoying. Why am I only hit on my psychos?" she asked, drumming her fingertips on the tabletop.

"I would answer, but it will just make you angrier," Tenten said, crossing her legs under the table. Temari sighed and opened her math book as Kakashi walked in.

"I wouldn't say it then," Temari whispered to Tenten.

"Fine… but have you talked to Shikamaru. I mean, I'm pretty sure after you flipped out, he kind of got the wrong idea," Tenten murmured, pretending to flip through her math book to the correct page.

Temari bit her lip. "I'll see him in Home Ec today… I can talk to him then," she said, as quietly as she possibly could.

Not quietly enough though, for mister Kakashi though, for he turned, throwing a piece of chalk at Temari. She let out a noise of surprise and ducked, looking properly abashed. "I'd do it without yelling though," Tenten whispered, coughing as she was done to disguise her voice.

Temari threw Tenten a dirty look as she looked back to her book.

A few hours later…

"I can't believe you set fire to the Home Ec classroom," Ino said, sighing as Temari sat on the curb, her head resting in her hands.

"It was an accident," she said, her voice muffled. They were surrounded by fire trucks and people milled around outside. "And I technically didn't set fire to it… I blew it up," she added, sounding mortified.

"Ok, tell us what happened," Sakura said, rubbing Temari on the back.

"_Could you just let me explain?!" Temari asked, her voice growing louder as she was mixing something in a bowl._

_Shikamaru stared at her. "Explain what?"_

"'_Explain what,' that's all you've been saying," Temari growled, shoving the mixture at him._

_He took it, pouring it into the pot. "Temari, there is nothing you have to explain," he said, sounding bored._

"_I just want to apologize!" she exclaimed, leaning on the counter._

"_Fine, apologize then," Shikamaru said, handing the spoon to her so she could stir the ingredients in the pot._

_She took it, shoving it into the pot as she began stirring. "I'm sorry," she said, sounding angry. She didn't like apologizing, but now that she had insisted on it so much, she couldn't help but do it anyways._

_He just watched her, and Temari kept stirring, not paying any attention to the actual food she was supposed to be cooking. "Temari, the pot, it's…"_

_She turned around to see it smoking and bubbling. "What the--"_

"_What did you put in there?" Shikamaru asked. Temari held up a bottle of something, with the label partly worn off. "Nitro-methane…" he read. Both he and Temari paled. "What the fuck were you thinking?!"  
_

"_It was with the other ingredients!" she exclaimed. They looked at the pot._

"EVERYONE, GET OUT!" _Shikamaru yelled, before grabbing Temari and pulling her towards the door. It exploded as the students were getting out, and they flew into the hallway wall across from the classroom door._

"What is it with those flashbacks?" Ino muttered.

"O-oh, my g-god Temari," Hinata said, sounding horrified. "A-are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "I just sprained my ankle. I'm going to the hospital as soon as they are done patching everyone up. God, how could I be so stupid?"

"It wasn't really your fault," Tenten said. "I mean, we use the Science classroom as the Home Ec classroom, so it makes sense that this might happen."

"Like I said, it was with the other ingredients. I don't know how it got there," Temari said, sounding miserable.

"Was Shikamaru ok?" Sakura asked, sounding concerned.

"Pretty much the same as me, only instead of his ankle, his leg was ripped open," Temari said, starting to sound sick.

"Omigod, where is he?! Is he alright?!" Ino demanded.

"They took him to the hospital in an ambulance."

"Well, then h-he should be f-fine. It wasn't y-your f-fault," Hinata said, trying to reassure her.

"Yippee for me then," Temari said. She sighed and, leaning on Tenten, got up. "Well, looks like it's my turn in the ambulance," she said, letting them help her over to the ambulance.

"We'll drop by later," Ino said, hugging her.

"Thanks… see you later," Temari said, before the ambulance doors closed.

A few hours later…

"This is fucked up beyond all belief," Tenten said. They were sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting for Temari to get out.

"Tell me about it," Ino groaned.

Hinata just nodded her agreement.

Sakura walked up. "Temari should be coming down in a few minutes," she said, sitting down and brushing her pink hair out of her face. Most of the school was coming and going from the hospital, checking up on friends and the like.

"Hey guys." They turned and saw Temari hobbling towards them on a cane. She looked extremely uncomfortable, and she also had some bandages on her arm. Tenten and Ino jumped up, immediately hugging her. "Careful of the cast girlies," Temari said, giving them, and then Hinata and Sakura hugs.

"Let's get you out of here," Ino said, supporting Temari on one side to help her move.

"So, how's your ankle?" Sakura asked as they walked towards the parking lot of the hospital.

Temari grimaced. "I've got a 'grade 3' sprain. Apparently I'll be using crutches and shit for a month at least." She sighed. "I'm more worried about school. Apparently I've been suspended."

"O-oh n-no," Hinata said. "T-that's horrible."

Temari moaned. "I am going to be in so much trouble," she said as they got to Ino's car and got in.

"Well, where do you want to go? Food? Shopping?" Ino asked as they pulled out from the parking lot.

"I want chips. I want ice cream, soda, chips, sweat pants, and chick flicks," Temari said forcefully.

The others giggled. "Junk food and movies it is."

"Hey Ino, could you actually drop me off at Hotto Kaferate Café?" Tenten asked. "I'm meeting Neji."

"Sure," Ino said as they drove onto the main road. Temari put the music on, looking moody.

"Hey Temari, how long were you suspended for?" Tenten asked.

"A month," she said.

"T-that's not too b-bad," Hinata said, attempting to lift her spirits. Temari shook her head with a snort.

"Tell that to dad. He may not be much of a father, but he is going to blow a gasket if he find out," she said.

"By the way, how's Shikamaru?" Sakura asked.

Temari slid down a little in her seat. "I haven't seen him yet," she said quietly. "Don't say _anything_," she said to the others, sitting up suddenly.

Ino nodded. "We won't. You've been screwed with today already."

They pulled up in front of the Hotto Kaferate Café and Tenten jumped out. "See you guys later. I'll stop by your place later Temari, maybe catch one of the movies."

"'Kay, bye Tennie," Ino said.

Tenten walked inside the café and looked around for Neji.

"Hey Neji!" she exclaimed, walking up to where he sat at a table. She slid into the seat across from him.

"Hey Tenten," he said, sipping his coffee.

"I'll have a iced mocha please," she said to the waitress. Then she looked back at Neji. "You look so… gloomy," she said.

He gave her a look. "Woah, down boy," she said, holding her hands up as she leaned back. "Is this about the attack, because that was weeks ago," she said, raising her eyebrows.

He clenched his fists on the table. She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, my god. It is isn't it? I thought we had put that behind us!" she exclaimed.

"'Put it behind us'?" Neji demanded.

'_Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say,'_ Tenten thought. "I mean, moving on from it."

A muscle in his jaw jumped. "Moving on? Tenten, I would have thought you of all people wouldn't be so eager to forget," he said.

"I am not saying we should 'forget'. I'm saying it shouldn't rule my life, or yours. Is that all you've been thinking about?" she asked.

"So what if I have been?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

She stared at him in silence as the waitress brought her her mocha. "Why?" she asked.

"Why shouldn't I? I should have been able to stop it from even happening," he said.

"Nothing happened though! And how could you have done anything? You weren't there."

"That's not the point Tenten," he growled.

"What is then?!" Tenten exclaimed as she threw her hands up. She could feel people staring but she didn't care.

"The fact that I wasn't able to do anything."

"Godammit Neji! Why do you do this sort of thing? I've known you for 8 years and it's always the same thing! Oh, I cannot talk to you right now," she said, getting up and stomping towards the exit. He didn't follow and she was partially glad.

She stormed down the street. She didn't know why she was so angry, but his whole attitude had set her off. She stopped on the middle of Honotomo Street and blew out an annoyed breath.

"Shit."


	21. Oh Joy, Metaphors

**I so not own Naruto, 10 Things I Hate About You, Say Anything or The Devil Wears Prada**

**No Plasticy Table Tops were harmed in the making of this Fan Fiction**

**Just for clarification, all of the main characters (save the sensei's and Akatasuki) are all in Junior year. The Akatasuki are maybe 3 or 4 years older then them, and the sensei's are in their 30's to 60's.**

**Enjoy!**

----

"Why can't things work out in real life like in '10 Things I Hate About You' or 'Say Anything'," Temari asked with a sigh as she put some more popcorn in her mouth. She, Sakura, Hinata and Ino were in Ino's spacious bedroom, wearing old sweats and continually shoveling popcorn into their mouths

"Was that the doorbell?" Ino asked, pausing 'The Devil Wears Prada' during its beginning credits, before she tromped downstairs. They heard her greet Tenten, and they a thump and an exclamation, followed by the sound of people climbing up the stairs. Then the door opened and Ino and Tenten walked in, the latter looking almost on the verge of tears. She came in, and the first thing she did was glomp onto her other friends.

"T-Tenten! A-are you a-alright?" Hinata asked as Tenten virtually collapsed on her, Sakura and Temari. Ino walked over and hugged Tenten on the back.

"Neji is such a jackass!" Tenten yelled.

"What did he do?!" Sakura exclaimed as she hugged her panda haired friend.

"He is so overprotective, and then, he just texted me. He said we might need some time apart!!" Tenten shrieked.

"Why did he say that?" Temari asked.

"Um… I kind of yelled at him and then blew him off when we met for coffee," Tenten said, biting her lower lip. Ino stifled a giggle with a sound resembling her choking and a snort at the same time. Tenten glared at Ino with slightly red eyes.

"Oh Tenten," Temari said. "I'm so sorry," she said, hugging her around the waist.

"It was a stupid thing to do…" Tenten said. "Why did I do it?!" she yelled, the realization of it all really hitting her. "I waited for him to notice me for two years, and I just blew it!!"

"I c-can talk t-to N-Neji-sempai for y-you if you w-want…" Hinata mumbled. "He r-really does… l-love you Tenten," she said.

"Obviously I c-changed his mind," Tenten said, struggling not to start crying.

"Ok, this calls for chocolate," Temari said. "Where is your stash Ino?"

"I'll go grab it," Ino said, jumping up.

She came back shortly carrying several boxes of chocolates, a few candy bars, and even the blocks of cooking chocolate they had in her house. Tenten grabbed a box and tore the lid off. She grabbed one of the caramels and ate it, a miserable look on her face as she did.

They put the movie on and they spent almost three hours working through the chocolate and regularly pausing the movie for Tenten and Temari to lament about their troubles. By the time 2 o'clock came around (with many gleeful comments about Ino's parents being out for the night) they had eaten 3/4ths of the chocolate and were all sleeping in various places around Ino's room.

They woke up 5 hours later. There were various swearwords passed around as they got up, trying to work the cricks out of their backs. "That… was a mistake," Temari said.

"It was as fun as hell though," Sakura said.

"To bad we didn't do any of our homework," Ino commented.

"Shit…"

At school that day…

Tenten was waiting for Hinata to dig her stuff out of her locker so they could go to English. She was checking the hallways for Neji. "Hurry up," she hissed. "Neji might show up."

"I-I'm coming, Tenten," Hinata said, grabbing her bag and starting to walk with Tenten down the hallway.

"Hey Hinata, can I ask you about this one homework problem?" Naruto asked, coming up.

Hinata knew what he meant. Whenever they wanted to meet each other in school they used that approach. "A-alright N-Naruto-kun," she said. "Tenten, I'll s-see you in E-English."

"Ok," Tenten said, checking the halls for Neji before she snuck off. She didn't notice Naruto and Hinata starting to make out before they even got to the janitors closet. She didn't notice much as she snuck through the halls, feeling like a spy. She peeked around the corner and saw the door to the classroom at the other end of the hall. _'I can't believe I'm doing this… first I was almost sobbing when he dumped me, now I'm avoiding him like he's the goddamn plague…'_ she thought as she started down the hall. _'I am so pathetic…'_

She got there as a few other people were trickling in and slipped inside. She slumped over to her seat and sat down, sinking down in it as she did. She sat next to Kin, which of course made Tenten's life hell during class. Kin was already there and she smiled sweetly at Tenten when Tenten sat down. _'What's with her?'_ Tenten thought with a touch of annoyance.

"Hello Tenten," Kin said, still smiling sweetly. Tenten blinked.

"Um… hi…" she said as she dug her books out of her bag.

"So where's Neji today, I thought you guys were like that," Kin said, holding up two crossed fingers.

Tenten's face fell from a suspicious look to one that edged on miserable. "Um, I don't know, he's probably around here somewhere…" she muttered.

She didn't notice Kin grinning as she turned away. She was staring at her book trying to think about English. _'At least I have practice this evening… that's good,'_ Tenten thought, thinking affectionately about her soccer practice.

Hinata came in looking a little disorganized a few seconds before class started. Tenten raised her eyebrow at her friend, who was trying to fix her hair and straighten her sweater as she walked in. 'What the heck?' she mouthed at her. Hinata shook her head and looked at Shizune.

Tenten did too, thinking of everything but school.

Lunch that day…

Tenten had gotten some annoyed texts from Temari after she had complained to her by text messages, and taking Temari's advice, decided to act like Neji dumping her was not worthy of her attention. She walked into the cafeteria and past Neji without giving him any acknowledgement, all the while freaking out inside. She grabbed a devil dog and a yogurt before walking over to her friends.

"You look better," Sakura said, raising her head from where she was resting it.

Tenten made a face. "It was Temari's idea," she whispered. "I really don't feel better at all…"

"Well, we've got gym right after this," Ino said, patting her on the arm. "That should cheer you up."

"Ino! You pig-headed moron!" Sakura exclaimed.

"What?! Oh… yeah, you're paired with Neji," Ino said, making an apologetic face.

Tenten banged her head into the table. "Thanks a lot Ino," she said sarcastically, her voice muffled.

"D-don't worry to m-much," Hinata said, hugging Tenten with one arm.

Tenten sighed and shoved her food towards the others. "Feel free to eat all you want," she said.

Sakura and Hinata grabbed some, but Ino shook her head. "Remember, I'm not doing dairy or grains until the party. My dietician said it might be good for a whole detox thing."

"Yeah, well Sakura, Hinata, eat away. I am so not hungry."

She crossed her arms and chanced one glance towards Neji.

"Goddammit!"

Gym That Day…

Tenten was wearing the tank top and shorts as she walked into the gym. It was a little chilly which made Ino pull on a t-shirt, but Tenten didn't care. If anything being cold would make her forget about the fact that she was trying to flip over her ex. "Ex… ugh," Tenten said.

"Today is going to be the last day of our self-defense classes," Gai announced. "So today we will be just going over everything you've learned."

Tenten sighed in relief. Today was the last day she'd be paired with Neji. _'Joy to the world!'_ she thought gleefully as she walked over to the mat. Ino was already there, giggling about it being the last self-defense class.

Neji walked over, his face neutral as it almost always was. He barely even acknowledged Tenten. She clenched her fists and turned around as Gai instructed them to work on defenses for attacks from the back. She felt Neji's arm circle her neck and she grabbed his arm, twisting herself to try and flip him over her. Once again it failed. She felt like it was a metaphor for her life. Twisting and pushing against things that wouldn't change. Neji was the prime example of this.

She gritted her teeth and tried again. She felt him move slightly, but then she felt him start to twist too, turning her own strength against her. She moved her feet too quickly and stumbled back, hitting her head on the mat when she fell. She groaned and stared up. _'It's like I drew the 'Card of Fucked Up Month,'_ she thought. Neji offered her his hand but she swatted it away. She regretted it as she got up and realized how childish it might have come across as.

She saw Kin across the gym and Kin smiled at her again. She blinked and turned away. What was with her? First she acted like the queen of bitches towards Tenten, and now she was acting like they were friends or something. She grimaced and turned with her back towards Neji again. She felt him press up against her again and she realized she had been blushing. _'How long have I been blushing?!'_ Tenten thought, horrified as she tried to flip Neji again.

She got distracted and he started to flip her, when she acted on instincts and turned around in the headlock, pivoting on one foot. _'Fuck,'_ she thought as they both started to go down. She landed on him, but quickly rolled off. He made a face as he got up, probably from the sudden addition of 140 pounds or so. She found herself blushing again.

'_This day could not end sooner…'_


	22. Library Liasons

I do not own Naruto, Spring Snow, Diamond Age, Disturbia Pon De Replay or Untouched

**No radishes were harmed in the making of this Fan Fiction**

----

Sakura was walking to the library. She smelled strongly of radishes seeing as she had just gotten back from helping Ino carve all of the radishes she got. She hadn't talked to Sasuke since Monday except for some polite greetings at school. It was depressing to her, especially since what was going on with Tenten and Neji. They had seemed so great together... or so she had thought.

She slumped into the library, and after grabbing some books, including Spring Snow and Diamond Age, she went to the quiet room. Reading was her favorite activity when she was having a complicated time: it was so easy to forget about your own life and read about someone else's.

She was partway into Diamond Age when the door opened. She looked up and saw Sasuke. She wasn't really that surprised – it seemed whenever she needed to talk to someone he found her there. She looked back down at her book though, picking at one of her cuticles as she did.

She could feel him watching her, so she decided to make the first move. "Sasuke," she started, looking up at him and closing her book. "About Monday…"

"What about Monday?" he asked, his face impassive.

"The whole thing with… Itachi," Sakura said carefully. She saw a flicker of anger on his face, but it passed as quickly as it had arrived. "I know you probably didn't take seeing him that well, and I'm sorry I brought it up then," she said, trailing off at the end.

"You're always apologizing," he said tiredly.

"So—I mean, I know," she said, catching herself.

"It wasn't your fault, how should you have known?" he asked.

'_**Ooh, is he hot. It should be illegal!'**_

'_Inner-Sakura! I thought you were gone.'_

'_**Yeah, well I'm not. Anyways, say something or he'll think you're a moron.'**_

"I dunno… I still am sorry though," she said.

He sighed. "You really have to stop apologizing."

"Sor--" He groaned in annoyance and leaned forwards from his chair to kiss her, therefore cutting her off. His tongue flicked against her mouth and she opened her lips slightly, letting him in. She felt his tongue exploring her mouth as he kissed her. He tasted good, and Sakura wanted more, so she pushed his tongue back with her own and they began battling for dominance. Her arms went around his neck, pulling her closer to him as his arms snaked around her waist.

He pulled her partially into the chair he was sitting in and let her tongue into his mouth. She took time to taste inside him, before he pushed her back and shoved his own tongue back into her mouth. She let him this time, completely absorbed in the kiss. She only pulled back when she felt his hands start to slide up her shirt. "S-Sasuke… we're in a library," she said, leaning back from him a little.

He rolled his eyes and pulled her back towards him, kissing her again. This time his hands stayed on her hips, and Sakura kept herself latched onto him as his tongue invaded her mouth. She ignored the fact that they were in the library as sat on his lap, leaning towards him as they made out.

'_**So hot.'**_

The next day…

"Disturbia, it's like the dark within the light. Disturbia, am I scaring you tonight?"

Temari was out working on her new photography project. She had Rihanna blaring out of her headphones as she set up her camera. She was working on shots of reflections on water, so the lake was the ideal spot. She snapped a few shots before adjusting herself with her cane. _'This cane is not helping my projects,'_ she thought bitterly.

Her thoughts flickered back to Shikamaru but she pushed them out of her mind. It had been bothering her all week, but she hadn't had the chance to apologize or anything. She shook her jean-clad hips side to side as Pon De Replay came on and started changing the focus of her camera to get a sharper picture.

"Why is it I always find you here?"

Temari turned around at that and saw Shikamaru. "Sh-Shikamaru!" she said, pulling her headphones. She was alarmed and a little nervous. How would she apologize?

"The one and only," he said sarcastically. "How's your ankle?" he asked.

"Shouldn't I be asking you something similar?" she asked, struggling to keep the regret out of her voice. She knew it was her fault she blew up explosive chemicals, and for some reason, she was taking it harder then she would have normally. Normally she would have apologized and then brushed it off.

He shrugged. "I'm doing better. Lost a little blood but nothing too serious."

"Listen, about the explosion, I'm really sorry," Temari said,

"I have a feeling you should save the excessive apologies for Principle Tsunade," he said.

She narrowed her eyes and turned around as well as she could with a cane. "Fine, I'm not sorry then," she said sounding annoyed.

He snorted and she blew out a breath of air. "What is it?" she demanded.

"Whenever I'm around you and make a sarcastic comment you automatically go on the defense," he said, digging his hands into his pockets.

"Well, you can just deal," Temari snapped.

"See, that was the perfect example of it," he said, sounding amused.

"I have my reasons, does that work as an explanation?" Temari asked, turning back around to face him.

"I don't think I asked for one," he said. "And, what reasons?" he asked, leaning against a tree.

She turned back around and started to pack her camera gear up. "None of your business," she said quietly.

He raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

She zipped her camera case up and hoisted it onto one shoulder. "I told you, none of your business."

"It sounds pretty serious," he said, his voice edging on concern.

"Fuck off Shikamaru," Temari snapped, tottering towards the road with her cane.

He watched her go with his eyebrow still raised.

That evening…

Hinata was sitting on the couch at Ino's. People were steadily streaming in for the party so Hinata was taking a moment to take a breather. She had been helping make food all day for the party: ever since the punch fiasco Sakura and Ino were sticking with decorating. She was wearing her Halloween costume. She was going as a doll.

Ino was going around greeting people. She was going as a cat and she had fake whiskers, ears and a leopard print unitard on. Sakura and Tenten were there too. Tenten was going as Wonder Woman and Sakura had on a costume of a traditional Japanese school girl. Temari was also there and she was going as a Geisha so she was wearing a traditional embroidered kimono and she had an elaborate wig and make-up on.

Hinata watched Sakura and Sasuke wandering outside towards the bonfire, Tenten avoiding Neji by sneaking around the kitchen and Temari flirting with a few boys. Hinata then turned her attention to looking around for Naruto. "Where is he?" she wondered aloud. She waited a few more minutes before spotting him.

"Hey Hinata," Naruto said, coming up. She smiled up at him and stood.

"K-kombanwa N-Naruto-kun," Hinata said. She scrutinized his costume.

He chuckled as he saw what she was doing. "I'm going as The Edge," he said with a grin.

"Oh," Hinata said. "I-I've never heard of h-him."

"He plays for U2. I was thinking of going as Jimmy Paige but that would have taken some thinking," he said, sound amused as he looked over her slightly puzzled expression. Then he pulled her towards the kitchen. Tenten had deserted it for the back deck so they were the only people there. Naruto leaned down and started to kiss her.

"N-Naruto, w-won't people s-see?" Hinata stuttered, pulling away slightly.

He looked around. "No one's here," he said with a grin before kissing her again. Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck carefully, and she let him pull her towards him. His tongue slid into her mouth and she couldn't help but sigh in pleasure. She could feel his hands running through her hair.

She played with the back of his collar and the bits of hair that stuck out of his hat, absentmindedly. She was on her tiptoes as they kissed, and at one point she slipped, leaving Naruto actually lifting her off the ground until she regained her footing. They broke away at one point for air before they submerged themselves in kissing once more.

Hinata vaguely registered Untouched playing in the background and was struck with the thought that it fit her situation, before she concentrated on the kiss once more, letting all other thoughts leave her head.


	23. Make Him Pay

**I do not own Naruto, Beautiful Dirty Rich, Dirrty, Lady Marmalade, Temperature, Sexy Naughty Bitchy or Ghost Busters**

**No Doritos were harmed in the making of this Fan Fiction**

----

Tenten crouched down behind a chair, feeling slightly ridiculous wearing a Wonder Woman costume that Ino had somehow convinced her to wear, but even more ridiculous to be hiding from her ex-boyfriend. She had a feeling the hiding had to do with the fact that she was wearing a skin-tight, sleeveless top that had a bottom like a pair of star-spangled underwear. She groaned and stood. She felt so stupid she just couldn't continue hiding behind chairs and couches. No, one of the spare bedrooms was a better option.

She jogged up the stairs and was about to enter the bedroom when none other then Hyuga Neji himself came out of one of the other rooms. She froze, her face turning a pinkish-red color as she faced him. _'Shit… man oh man I did not want this to happen,'_ she thought. She opened and closed her mouth several times, not unlike a fish, as she tried to think of something to say.

She couldn't just run into the bedroom now, it would seem weird. So she did what any sensible girl would do… she tossed her hair, down for her costume, over one shoulder and sauntered, or at least attempted to saunter, down the stairs. At the last step she accidentally stumbled on the last step but she kept walking. She at last found Temari looked annoyed and stuffing Doritos' in her mouth. "Whas wrong?" Temari asked, speaking through the chips.

"Neji… upstairs… kill me," Tenten whispered, completely mortified.

Temari stared at her. "You are so not dealing with this," Temari said, swallowing quickly and licking her fingers clean. Tenten gave her a haggard look.

"You think?"

Temari rolled her eyes. "Ok, time to end your pity party. If Neji was an idiot enough to dump you, then he obviously wasn't good enough for you. Now there are two options, move on and in time forgive him, or… make him regret ever blowing you off."

"What one should I do though?" Tenten asked, leaning against the wall.

Temari whipped a fan out of her obi and held it over her lower face, flashing Tenten a grin. "We are going to make that son of a bitch suffer," she said with a cackle.

Tenten felt a smile creeping onto her features. Now this was a plan she could get behind. "Let me guess your strategy, boy toy?" Tenten asked with a snort.

"Why, you read my mind," Temari said, a smirk on her face. "Now all we need is a guy."

"What kind of shmuck would go for it though?" Tenten asked. Temari bit her lip as she thought it over.

"Kankuro!" Temari finally exclaimed.

"Are you serious?" Tenten asked.

"Oh god, totally," Temari said with another grin.

"But he's your brother…" Tenten said, fiddling with a piece of her hair.

"So, I'll tell him I'll set him up with Hana in Lit if he does this for us. 'Kay?" Temari asked, cocking her head to one side.

Tenten nodded her head. "Oh yeah. Should we tell Ino and the others?" she asked.

"Ino would kill us if we didn't. I'll tell her after we work it out with Kankuro. Come on," Temari said, grabbing Tenten by the arm and pulling her towards her brother as she used her other arm to hold the cane under her. "Kankuro," Temari barked as they approached her younger brother who was currently attempting to flirt with one of the girls from gym.

The girl walked off looking disgusted as Kankuro turned to Temari. "Yeah?" he asked.

"You're now dating Tenten. We're going to make Neji jealous. If you do this for us, I'll get you a date with Hana. She owes me a favor," Temari said.

"Fine," Kankuro said, looking Tenten up and down. Tenten narrowed her eyes.

"There is no way you are getting any," Tenten snapped. "Just remember that."

He sighed. "Fine, fine."

Temari grinned. "Ok. Now go make Neji jealous," she said before shuffling off, careful to keep the long kimono out from under her feet.

Tenten looked at Kankuro. He didn't actually look any different and was wearing a black tank top and jeans. _'The things I do…'_ she thought bitterly. _'Oh well, it'll be worth it.'_ "Come with me," she demanded, grabbing him by the arm and scanned the room. She spotted him near the dance floor and grinned evilly. "There he is."

Kankuro gave her a look as she started dragging him towards the dance floor.

"Stop it," she snapped. "This is supposed to be believable."

"It'll be more believable if I can feel you up," he said with a grin.

"Don't make me gag."

She saw Ino giving her the thumbs up across the dance floor and the next thing she knew Beautiful, Dirty, Rich was coming on. _'Temari is a goddess,'_ she thought. She couldn't really believe how much she was relishing this. She had gone from completely red to a total bitch. And she was enjoying it a little. _'Maybe I'm a sadist,'_ she thought.

They got to the dance floor and began dancing. It was so much smuttier then Tenten normally danced. Normally she danced like a spazz and it was almost always with her girls. Now she was dancing with her friend's brother to make her ex jealous. _'It's like a scene in a bad romantic story,'_ she thought as she felt Kankuro's hands on her hips. "Watch it," she hissed, her lips barely moving. She was watching Ino out of the corner of her eye, who was in turn watching Neji. Ino had a grin slowly spreading on her face and Tenten could only guess why.

She in turn had a smirk on her face and continued dancing. After Beautiful, Dirty, Rich Ino put Dirrty on, then Lady Marmalade, Temperature and Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy. Finally she pulled him off the dance floor and dragged him upstairs and into a spare bedroom. She locked the door and sat down on the bed. "This is so much fun," she said. Kankuro gave her a, 'What a Psycho' look.

Downstairs…

"Neji, you look pissed," Ino said slyly. Sai was next to her and was frowning slightly at his girlfriend.

Neji threw her a look before stalking off. Ino then burst into high-pitched giggles. "Ino, what's going on?" Sai asked.

Ino looked up at him. She didn't like lying to him, but this was for Tenten. "Nothing at all. Why would you ask?" she asked. "Come on, I want to dance," she said, steering him over towards the dance floor with a smile. Sai had a smile on his face as well but it was fake. He knew when Ino was up to something and he had a feeling it had to do with why Kankuro was practically humping Tenten on the dance floor.

Temari also watched, but from a distance. She couldn't get herself to close because she knew Neji wasn't a complete moron. She almost clapped her hands together. _'Wow, I'm turning into Ino,'_ she thought, amused. She then began heading for the back deck. It was too crowded for her to maneuver around with crutches inside. She hobbled outside and down towards the bonfire. It was a little hard to move on the path down to the private beach Ino's family had, but it wasn't to bad seeing as the path was paved with stones.

The beach was harder to move around on, so Temari stuck with the rockier areas and ended up sitting by the fire. She saw Sasuke and Sakura sitting on the other side, making sure nothing burned out of control, which basically meant they could make out. She snorted and stared at the fire. Sakura heard her and stuck her head up. "Oh, Temari!" she exclaimed, turning red.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Temari said, standing.

"It's ok," Sakura said. "You don't have to go if you don't want."

Temari heard Sasuke sigh and she chuckled. "It's ok. Have fun," she said in a singsong voice. She walked back off and she heard them start up again. She chuckled under her breath as she continued walking. She needed to stretch her legs anyways, so she started up the path, wandering towards the small garden Ino's family kept.

She saw someone there already but she continued anyways. No doubt it was another couple making out. It turned out to just be Choji though. "Oh, hey Choji," Temari said, walking towards him. He was dressed like a giant marshmallow. "A nod to Ghost Busters?" Temari asked, nodding towards his costume with an amused expression.

"Hey Temari," Choji said with a grin. "Yep. I love that movie."

Temari grinned. Choji was so nice; it automatically put her in a good mood. "Hey Choji, why don't you have a girlfriend?" she asked, sitting down on a rock. He blinked.

"Um… I dunno," he said. She chuckled.

"That must have seemed sudden," she said. She wasn't one to apologize about what she said, but Choji didn't seem to care.

"A little. It's ok though," he said with another grin.

"I really would have thought you'd have a girlfriend by now though," Temari said.

He was about to respond when someone else came by. Temari narrowed her eyes as Shikamaru walked up. She was still annoyed from earlier that day. "Hey Shikamaru," Choji said.

"Hey Choji." Shikamaru looked down at Temari, who had her arms crossed over her chest and was looking pointedly away. "What's with you?" Shikamaru asked her bluntly.

"None of your business," she snapped.

"Is that your new catchphrase or something?" he asked, sounding bored as per usual.

She snorted, not noticing as Choji started edging away. "Any, what was the deal earlier?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh gawd, I am so not talking about that with you," she said. _'Especially not with you,'_ she added mentally. "Besides, why is it such a big deal to you?"

"Because whenever you bring it up you automatically stiffen," he replied. She coughed and glared up at him.

"I didn't know you were paying such close attention," she snapped, before standing up and grabbing her cane. She hobbled away from him and back up towards the house. "I do not stiffen," she muttered.

"Man…"


	24. Scouting Out Guys

**I do not own Naruto**

**Thankfully, nothing was harmed in the making of this Fan Fiction, due to the unusual lack of anything being put in harms way (mostly).**

**Enjoy!**

----

At 1-ish Tenten finally went back downstairs. She had ruffled her hair up and smudged her makeup a little, but in reality she had spent the last hour giggling maniacally in Ino's room. Kankuro stayed upstairs after making several failed advances on Tenten. She was starting to get really annoyed at Kankuro. She went over to Temari who looked annoyed again. "Your brother is pissing me off," she hissed.

"Yeah, join the club," Temari grumbled.

"What's wrong?" Tenten asked.

"Two words, Nara Shikamaru. Now, what did Kankuro do?" Temari asked, changing the subject.

"He won't stop hitting on me, and smacking him doesn't work. Don't you think there is another guy around we could use instead?" Tenten complained.

"Hmm… I have an idea. Mall. Tomorrow. We can scout out prospective guys," Temari said with a catty grin.

"Ino will trip," Tenten said, smirking. "Now, I want to gloat in front of Neji," she said scanning the crowd.

Temari rubbed her palms together and then pointed towards a spot in the crowd. "He's over there. Come on."

They both strolled over by where Neji was standing looking annoyed. "Gawd," Temari started, raising her voice a little as they stopped a little ways away from Neji. "Could you shut up about my brothers French-kissing skills. Ew," she said, rolling her eyes comically.

Tenten flipped her hair over one shoulder. "Sorry, I see your point. Anyways, a bunch of people have been asking me out lately, so I'm going out with Keni from History tomorrow," she said, naming a guy who was notorious for dating girls to get into their pants. Temari was watching Neji out of the corner of her eye and grinned a little wider as he grew more and more angry.

"Really? You have to tell me all about it then," she said. "Where are you going?"

"Out for dinner," Tenten said, watching Temari's face to see Neji's reactions. Temari grinned wider signaling that he was growing more and more agitated. They both started walking off, feeling satisfied, but first Tenten decided to grab a chip that just happened to be in a bowl right by Neji. She ignored him completely as she did and then she and Temari walked off.

"I am getting a rush. That was so much fun," Tenten said, giggling.

"I might not be the best influence on you," Temari joked.

"Still, I totally owe you for this," Tenten said, popping the chip into her mouth.

"No problemo girlie."

Outside…

On the beach Sakura had conked out about a half an hour earlier, and was currently sleeping with her head on Sasuke's shoulder. The bonfire was pretty much out by now, but the lights from the house and the moon illuminated Ino's back yard enough for him to see well enough. He was watching Sakura sleep. When she fell asleep she looked completely peaceful, something that she didn't seem to experience too much when she was awake. She moved slightly, snuggling closer to his arm as she did.

He felt something wet on his nose and realized it had started to rain. He picked Sakura up and carried her carefully back up towards the house. Ino was frantically shoving all the turnips into her basement so they wouldn't rot, but stopped to stare and smirk at them as he walked past her. The music was loud enough in the house to cause Sakura to slowly wake up. "Huh?" she said, sitting up on the couch Sasuke had set her on. Some people had left already, such as Hinata, but most were still there.

She groaned and stumbled up before tripping over her feet and landing back on the couch. Sasuke looked over at her as she did, a little surprised. "Want to go?" he asked.

"I-I'm fine," Sakura said, stifling a yawn. He shook his head and helped her up. "Normally I wouldn't be this tired," she muttered.

"I think I know why," he said with a smirk remembering there library make-out session earlier that day, She blushed slightly as they walked outside to his car.

"Leaving?" Ino asked in passing, the smirk returning to her face.

"Yep," Sakura said. "Bye, Ino-pig."

Ino laughed. "See you pinkie. Oh, and mall, tomorrow. I'll pick you up at 11."

Sakura rolled her eyes and waved before walking over to his car. It had gotten fixed and by now his wrist was completely healed. She climbed into the passenger seat and they set off. She was asleep within seconds.

Sasuke pulled up to the front of her house and slowly shook her awake again. She moaned a little and unbuckled herself. "This means I have to stand up doesn't it?" she asked mournfully.

He chuckled in response. She leaned over towards him and kissed him. He kissed her back, cupping her face, before letting her go. "Well, I feel more energized," she said with a grin. "Good night Sasuke-kun," she said, getting out of the car. He waited until she got to her front door and then drove off as she turned to wave goodbye again.

The Next Day…

Hinata came downstairs at 9'o'clock. She was still in her pajamas, flannel pajama pants and an 'E=MC2' t-shirt that was two sizes too large for her. She sat down at the kitchen island and let her head tip over onto the table top, which made her un-brushed hair fan out. After five minutes with her forehead on the cool marble counter-top she stood and walked over to the fridge, deciding to grab some fruit and maybe some toast. She had just put the bread in the toaster when she heard someone stomping downstairs.

Her cousin walked in, looking pissed off. He hadn't tied his hair back yet; he wasn't even dressed yet, wearing something similar to what she wore. She stared at her normally emotionless cousin. He sat down in the spot she had just vacated and glared moodily at the wall. "N-Neji-sempai, would you l-like some toast?" Hinata asked, pretending not to notice anything out of the ordinary.

Neji grunted. Hinata almost felt like laughing. He was acting like Tenten when she got PMS. She grabbed a pot full of coffee, obviously made by her dad who woke up 6-sharp, even on weekends, and poured out a cup, and then got herself a cup of tea. She handed Neji the coffee, and he took it with another grunt. She began buttering the toast, avoiding looking at the guy practically radiating rage.

"What was she thinking?" she heard him mutter.

"Is s-something wrong, N-Neji-sempai?" Hinata asked, still facing away from him.

"No, nothing," he hissed. "Except for the fact that Tenten is acting like a dumbass." He added the last part quietly, but Hinata caught most of it. She paused for a second and then went back to what she was doing. Obviously Tenten had done something to piss Neji off. She couldn't help but feel out of the loop.

'_What did she do?'_

At Sakura's…

Sakura ate the eggs her dad had made greedily, relishing the heat it sent into her. Last night she had eaten only some soda and a few chips, so this morning upon waking up she had felt rather nauseous. Her dad shook his head as he watched her eat. "What is with you and these parties your friend Ino throws?" he asked.

Sakura raised her head. "What do you mean?" she asked after swallowing.

"You always stay out for ages and then come back looking exhausted," he said, loading up their dishwasher.

"It's fun," Sakura said, realizing belatedly how that might not seem to make sense. She grinned and ate the last bite, and dropped her plate in the sink. "Ino's coming to pick me up at 11, so I'm going to go finish that essay for bio," she said, bounding up the stairs with newfound energy. She walked into her room, tidy as usual, and walked over to her desk. She still had her biology stuff out so she sat down to get to work.

She was done by 10:20, and she got up to go take a shower. She normally allotted herself a half an hour to 45 minutes to get cleaned up, so she definitely had time before Ino picked her up at 11. She turned the shower on and climbed in, enjoying the feeling the hot water had on her skin. She washed her hair and body, even taking time to shave.

She got out after ten minutes or so of the bliss called showering and toweled off. She made sure to brush her teeth and hair, before working some product through her pink tresses. By the time she was done in the bathroom she smelled like a mix of strawberries and passion fruit and was wearing a pair of faded jeans and white tank top that she had put a pink sweater over. She checked the time, before grabbing her purse and heading downstairs. She was pulling a coat on when she heard Ino pull up.

Her mom looked up from the couch where she was lounging with a new book. "Nice to tell me your leaving," her mom remarked sarcastically. Sakura grinned and kissed her on the cheek while she pulled some boots on.

"Bye mom," she said, walking outside. Tenten was already in the car and had claimed part of the backseat as her own. Hinata was there as well, in the front seat with a small smile on her face. Sakura climbed into the back of the convertible. "Hey girls," she said as Ino started driving.

"Hey Sakura," Ino said. "Tenten, why don't you fill her in on our brilliant plan."

Tenten grinned and turned to face her friend. "We're going to find a guy that I can date to make Neji jealous." Hinata shook her head as she giggled.

Sakura laughed. "That is awesome! Let me guess, Temari thought this up?"

"Yep," Tenten said, her lips popping on the 'p'.

"Where is Temari anyways?" Sakura asked.

"She's driving herself. She needed to pick up something. An amp she was having fixed, I think," Ino said.

They arrived at the mall after a little while and walked inside. Temari was waiting for them in the food court and waved as they approached. "I assume Sakura and Hinata have been filled in," Temari said as they walked up.

Tenten nodded with a grin as they sat.

"S-so, what kind of g-guy are we l-looking for?" Hinata asked.

"Someone who likes a one-night stand, or something like that," Temari said gleefully.

"I am not sleeping with him," Tenten said.

"Duh, I know that," Temari said, rolling her eyes. "I meant 'one-night stand' as in a short dating period with making out, and then you guys go your separate ways. I've had them before, but those actually did involve sex," Temari said.

"Ok… by the way, Neji won't be here right Hinata? He thinks I'm going out with Keni…" Tenten said.

Hinata nodded. "I-I don't think s-so," she said.

Ino rubbed her palms together. "Ok then. Time to scout out potential guys. I bet there are some in here," she said, glancing around the food court."

"How about him?" Tenten asked, pointing at a guy who had sat down nearby. Then a girl came up and stuck her tongue down his throat as a greeting. "Never mind…" Tenten muttered.

Sakura giggled. They spent a while pointing out potential guys in the food court before they split up to scan the rest of the mall.

A few hours later Tenten was back at the food court waiting for the others to get there. She had had no luck finding any guys, but she was hoping they had found at least one. Sakura came up and sat down. "No luck," she said.

"There might be a guy here…" Tenten said. She heard Sakura draw in an intake of breath and she looked over at her. "What is it?"

"That guy," Sakura said, looking at a man who had sat down a few tables over. He looked incredibly similar to Sasuke. He was sitting with another guy who had black hair and was extremely tall.

"Yeah?"

"That's… y'know? Never mind," Sakura said.

"A no go?" Tenten asked.

Sakura nodded. "Well, what about his friend," Tenten said. She was still looking at him. Then his head turned over to stare at her. She was going to look away quickly as she normally would have done, but instead she smiled flirtatiously at him. He raised one eyebrow and smirked at her. Tenten turned to Sakura. "Do you know him too?" she asked, scribbling something on a piece of paper.

Sakura shook her head. "I think he's in college."

"College-schmollege," Tenten said. She stood up. "Come on."

Both girls walked past there table as they exited the food court, but as they passed Tenten dropped piece of paper on their table. It had her number on it and she grinned at him as she passed.

"Mission accomplished," Tenten muttered.


	25. Author's Notice, Holiday Break

Due to Christmas and Yule, I will not be posting this week. I will attempt to make a post on Saturday or Sunday though to make up for it. Many apologies, and happy holidays!

~Insert Alias


	26. Dude, Not Cool!

**I do not own Naruto, Batman Begins, Coke or Cetaphil**

**Kankuro's face was not harmed in the making of this Fan Fiction**

----

Tenten was on the couch in her living room. She was re-watching Batman Begins, and she had just gotten to the part where Christian Bale bought the hotel when her phone started ringing. "Tenteennn, the phone ringing is ruining the movie," her little siblings started whining from the hallway.

She stuck her head up to stare at them. "You guys are supposed to be asleep!" she exclaimed.

They giggled and ran back into their rooms as she paused the movie. She answered her phone. "Hello? This is Tenten speaking."

"Would this happen to be the girl who dropped her number on my table today?" a voice said, coming from the other side of the line.

Tenten grinned and started upstairs to her room incase her siblings were listening. "If you are Mr. Tall and Handsome, yes it is," she said, injecting more flirt into her voice then she was used to. "Glad you got the number."

"Well now that I have it, and have you on the phone, what am I going to do?"

"We could discuss it over dinner at Maeki's. Tuesday, 6-ish?" she said grinning.

"See you then."

She hung up and, grinning wildly, practically leapt downstairs. "Hyuga Neji will pay. Paaay!" she sung under her breath as she danced into the living room. "Go back to bed!" she yelled as she sat back down on the couch. She heard was siblings groan and stomp back to their rooms.

Still grinning, she flicked the movie back on.

The Next Day…

"Ino, I had a thought," Tenten said as she fished the Diet Coke out from the machine where she had just bought it. "What if Neji doesn't care?"

Ino gave a dramatic sigh. "What do you think the stuff with Kankuro on Saturday was for?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"Oh… like a test?" Tenten asked after taking a sip of the Coke.

"Yes Tenten, like a test," Ino said grouchily.

"You sure are in a crappy mood," Sakura said cheerfully as she bounded up to them.

"I got nil sleep. My dad threw a fit when he found out that I busted a speaker at the party," she grumbled. "I didn't even get to moisturize my legs today."

"You moisturize your legs?" Tenten asked as Temari and Hinata walked up.

"Yeah, every day," Ino said. "Don't you?"

Tenten shook her head with an amused expression. "Well, I do," Temari said with a grin. "I get all itchy in my jeans if I don't moisturize at least every other day." Tenten stared at them.

"That's insane," she said.

"Not as insane as moisturizing your elbows to stop from getting that dark elbow thing," Sakura commented. Ino gaped at her.

"Wow Sakura, I never knew you knew that much about beauty," she remarked, impressed.

"Yeah, well after you informed me that washing my face with cleanser won't get rid off all my makeup, I did a little research," she said as they started to walk towards Homeroom.

"Oh god, when you told me that you only used Cetaphil to wash your face at night _and_ that you were wearing makeup, I almost had an aneurysm," Ino said.

Hinata giggled as they walked into the classroom and separated to go to their seats. Sakura walked up to her seat and sat down, stretching her arms above her as she did. She saw Neji, her desk-mate, sit down next to her. She crossed her arms and looked pointedly away from him, as she had been doing since he and Tenten broke up.

"Sakura, I have to ask you something," Neji said. She turned around a little surprised. He hadn't addressed her in her recent memory.

"What?" she asked, injecting some hostility in her words.

He rolled his eyes before responding. "What is with Tenten? Did she get a concussion I didn't know about?"

"No she did not," Sakura huffed.

"Well then what's with the making out with random guys?" Neji demanded, looking annoyed.

"That," Sakura started, "Would be none of your business." She turned away from him before he could say anything else and silently thanking Mr. Kakashi for wandering in at that moment.

Break…

Neji glared moodily at the schools walls as he sat on the wall outside it. He was so involved on attempting to make it cringe with his gaze that he didn't notice Sai approaching. "Neji," Sai said as he walked up.

"Yeah?" Neji asked, looking at the abnormally pale boy next to him.

"I just wanted to warn you, I think Tenten and Ino are planning something," Sai said.

Neji raised an eyebrow. "What I mean is, I know my girlfriend, and she is acting like she does when she has a plan to mess with someone. It probably has something to do with that Kankuro thing," Sai said with a shrug.

Neji narrowed his eyes. "I almost forgot about that. I have something to say to Kankuro actually," Neji said, getting up.

Sai sighed. "Did you not hear me? I said I think Tenten and Ino are trying to do something to get back at you for dumping Tenten or something. Not that you're not an easy target," Sai muttered the last part.

Neji gritted his teeth. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, spotting Kankuro and making a beeline for him.

"You react to everything Tenten does. It's psychotic," Sai said.

"Nice choice of words," Neji said absentmindedly.

"What are you doing?" Sai asked, a touch of annoyance in his voice.

"As I said before, I have something to say to Kankuro," Neji said. Kankuro was getting shot down by a senior as they walked up.

"Neji, Sai, what's up?" Kankuro asked. Neji shifted his arm back as they reached him, and then slammed his fist into Kankuro's face. "Dude, not cool," Kankuro yelled as he stumbled back.

"What the fuck were you doing with Tenten?" Neji demanded. Kankuro stared at him.

"Is that what this is about?" he asked, holding one hand over his eye. "Jesus."

Neji pulled his fist back again and Kankuro took a hasty step back. "Whoa… ok, ok, to tell you the truth… Temari told me to dance and fake making out with her… well, she didn't mention the being stuck in a room with Miss Psycho for an hour," Kankuro said.

"What?" Neji asked.

"Dude, are you dense? Tenten's pissed and she is trying to get back at you," Sai said. A muscle in Neji's jaw started to jump.

"By what? Making out with other guy?"

"Probably," Kankuro said, still clutching his eye. "She didn't with me, but she seemed pretty peeved. Who knows."

"And why, if I broke up with her, would she be doing it this way?" Neji asked.

"She was testing you at the party," Kankuro explained. "You almost cracking off a piece of the table when you saw us might have clued her into the fact that you are not over her. At all."

Neji clenched his fists. "So, how do you suggest we get her to dump the idea before she gets in to too deep shit?" Neji asked.

"Good question…"


	27. Author's Notice, On Hiatus

Authors Note:

Unfortunately I'm going to be forced to put this story on hiatus due to some rl issues. Many apologies and hopefully it'll be back soon.

~Insert Alias


	28. Surprise!

Author's Note: And I'm back! Yes, yes, it has been years. I have probably disappointed some of you, betrayed you, caused you to lose vaguely decent entertainment. At least I like to think so. ;) Well now my hiatus is done. I am back and ready to start posting more of these chapters. And even better Konoha High is getting a revamp. Don't worry, I won't mess with the story line. Now there will be improved grammar, deeper story lines (you guys can handle it, right? :)), better story telling (so that when I re-read the chapters I don't cringe, gasp and go "what was I thinking?"). Plus a couple new story twists that should throw some of you for a loop. I hope you like it!

With love,

Insert Alias

I do not own Naruto, The Runaways or M.I.A.

"I love playing with fire and I don't wanna get burrrneeeedddd!"

Tenten was singing and dancing through her room, arms flailing wildly above her head, and The Runaways blasting from her stereo at a volume that could conceivable be illegal. Still, she was celebrating a night home alone. Her mother had taken her brothers out to some sort of class celebration thing and probably wouldn't be back until pretty late. At least that's what Tenten hoped.

Suddenly a sharp ringing filled her bedroom and she stopped in mid air-guitar solo. She blinked a couple times before reaching over to where her cellphone lay on her bed, simultaneously switching off her stereo. "Helloo?" she sang cheerfully as she picked up, not bothering to check the caller I.D. She was in so much of a good mood nothing, not even a telemarketer, would ruin her good mood.

"Hello. I'm looking for Sato Kyoko? This is Hyuga Neji."

Ok, so maybe that could ruin her good mood. Her face fell as she heard the decidedly familiar voice of her ex-boyfriend come out from her cellphone. Even worse, he was calling looking for some girl! "There's no 'Sato Kyoko' here Neji," she responded, the snappiness in her voice reflecting her newly cranky mood.

"Wait, who is this?"

"Your ex-girlfriend," Tenten couldn't help but snarl. Then she snapped her phone closed as she ground her teeth together. She glared at the wall. If looks could kill her 'M.I.A.' poster would have shriveled up by then. She fell backwards dramatically onto her bed, bouncing slightly as she landed. "This is just pathetic," she muttered angrily. She glared at her ceiling for a few moments before picking herself back up and maneuvering herself through her room to head downstairs.

As she went she caught a glimpse of a sticky on the wall by her door and she paused. A smile spread on her face as she read the reminder for her date with the guy from the mall. "I almost forgot that was tomorrow," she said to herself, laughing as she walked out of her room and towards the kitchen to find some food. "I guess I do have something to look forwards too afterall..."

The Next Day...

"Sakura, where were you last night?"

Sakura looked up, confused, as she saw Ino leaning up against the locker next to hers. "What?"

"I called you like fifty times!" Ino exclaimed. Sakura shook her head slightly, heading off down the hall for Homeroom, Ino in tow. Ino looked disgruntled as she followed, her blond hair bouncing wildly around as though it was imitating her annoyed mood.

"Sorry. I... well... I was down at the local soup kitchen," Sakura replied.

"The... soup kitchen?" Ino repeated, looking confused. "But why? Omigosh! Sakura, did something happen? Are you guys homeless now? Why didn't you tell me?" Ino said, growing louder and more shocked with each passing millisecond.

Sakura giggled. "No, Ino you goose. I'm volunteering there." A smile spread across Sakura's face as she told her this. She had been looking forwards to surprising Ino and the others with it, but wanted to wait until she had actually gone to the kitchen at least once. She stopped in front of the classroom, now grinning ear to ear. "I just started yesterday."

"Volunteering?" Ino blinked before leaping forwards to hug Sakura tightly. "You are so sweet, Sakura!" Ino exclaimed, shaking Sakura around as she hugged her. Sakura yelped slightly as Ino shook her around, before peeling her off herself. Then she smiled.

"It's not really a big deal Ino. I just thought it would be nice to do," Sakura said as they watched into the classroom with Ino. "I mean, I'm so priviledged that I thought I should do something to help others." Ino grinned as they stopped, standing just inside the door.

"That's awesome Sakura!" Ino exclaimed.

"You could try volunteering Ino," Sakura said. Ino looked down at her feet before looking up at Sakura with a sheepish smile. "What?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I have a surprise for you too. The reason why I can't volunteer is because... I... I'm in a play." Sakura's jaw dropped as Ino told her this. "It's not a big deal," Ino said, "but it's not a school play either. It's at the local community theater. It's "The Twelvth Night". I got the part of the court jester."

"That is so awesome!" Sakura exclaimed, reaching forwards to hug her as Ino had to Sakura just a minute before, though Sakura's hug was more subdued. "I can't believe it! When's opening night?"

"In a couple months. You and all the girls have to come see it, ok?" Ino asked with an excited smile.

"Of course!" Sakura exclaimed. "How could we miss it?"

Something bumped into them and they both stumbled back a foot or two as they saw Tenten. "Oh, sorry guys," Tenten said, looking sheepish. "I was distracted."

A sly grin spread across Ino's face as she looked at Tenten. "I can guess what you're distracted by. Would it by any chance have to do with your date tonight?" Ino asked, sidling up to Tenten.

Tenten raised an eyebrow at Ino, who immediately adopted an expression of complete and utter innocence. "Maybe," Tenten replied simply, before sauntering off towards her desk. Ino and Sakura exchanged looks as they went to their own seats. Sakura couldn't help but glance at Neji for a second before getting on with the job of settling herself in her seat.

Neji looked disgruntled and was leaning back in his own chair, pointedly not looking at Tenten. Sakura couldn't help but giggle as she looked up at the board. Both Neji and Tenten seemed to be acting rather stupid at the moment, but Sakura wouldn't interfere. After all, if they were that effected by their breakup they probably would be back together soon.

'Or if not,' Sakura thought, biting down on her lower lip, 'Then this is going to be one awkward semester.'


	29. The Snot Machine

**I do not own Naruto or 30 Rock**

**No rocks were harmed in the making of this fanfiction**

_Oh stupidity knows no bounds..._

Tenten found herself crouching behind a car, peering over the hood. It was a rather awkward position to be in when one was wearing a skirt, but knowing what was going on in the middle of the street Tenten was happy to be separated from it by a two ton pile of metal, even if her underwear was riding up her butt. "Why... why did I decide to go out on a date with a guy I saw for, like, a second in the mall," she fumed under her breath, peeking over the car again.

The guy was standing in the middle of the road, across from a group of other people. Mall-guy was holding a long lead pipe and grinning like a maniac. All Tenten knew was that she had met him by the restaurant when someone yelled, threw a rock at him which shattered on the building next to them, and the next thing she knew they were fighting in the middle of the street. "Why me?" She muttered. She took another peek to make sure they were preoccupied before dashing out from behind the car to behind a minivan parked a space away.

Tenten wasn't sure why she was being so stealthy: she wasn't involved in what was happening. But then again, she figured that no one who _was_ involved would care one way or another. She heard in the distance sirens growing closer and a stream of curses spilled out of her mouth as she ducked behind a faded blue pick-up. She'd already ended up dealing with the police recently, and she didn't want to have to again. She checked behind her again before bolting around the corner.

She sprinted down the sidewalk, silently praying that she didn't turn an ankle as she did. After she got what she assumed was a suitable distance away she slowed to a brisk walk, readjusting her skirt as she did. She kept her head high as she moved quickly through the city, heading towards her house, though on the inside she was just gloom and doom. _Its official_, she thought. _I have absolutely no taste in men_. The situation would have been almost funny if it didn't somehow make her want to cry.

"Hey, are you ok?"

Tenten looked up, not knowing that as she had been walking her face had warped into a grimace that would have put fear into the hearts of lesser men. She saw Kankuro looking at her with an expression like he had just accidentally ate snot, or maybe it was fear... she wasn't sure. "What do you want?" she asked, her lips pursed.

"Um… well seeing as you're looking as if you just killed someone and stashed the body… I just wanted to make sure you're ok. And not homicidal," he said with a shrug.

"Oh yeah, ha ha, you're soooo funny. Do grace me with your humorous presence," she grumbled.

Kankuro raised his eyebrows. "Um, defcon 1 much? I'm not here to harass you. Just wanted to make sure you were ok."

"Oh yeah, I'm just peachy," she said, wilting slightly, her expression turning from rage to disappointment. She felt her lower lip start to wobble slightly as her eyes started to tear up.

Kankuro backed away. "Woah! Um, let's not with the tears, ok?" he said nervously, looking around as if there was someone there who would tell him what to do.

"I just d-don't know what I'm doing w-wrong…" she wailed. She felt a little embarrassed to be crying in the middle of Cherry and Main but alas, that did nothing to curb her tears. This wasn't nice looking, anime crying that girls did before being comforted by their boyfriends and then inevitably having a 10 page make-out scene with them. This was '30 Rock' type crying, with full on snot power.

"Um, there there," Kankuro said awkwardly, moving closer to pat her nervously on the back.

"I mean, how many times can someone make mistakes with guys?" she asked, looking up at him. She was squinting to see his face through her tears and her eyes and cheeks were now tomato red. At this point he was sorry he had even taken this street to get to the bus stop. If only he had just kept walking…

He laughed nervously, his voice cracking slightly as he did. "Not… many?" he asked.

This answer only served to make her cry in a more high pitched tone. "First Neji-buttface-hyuga, now random, tall, hot guy," she wailed. She stopped suddenly, her eyes growing wide with anger. "Oh my god. OH MY GOD. I didn't even know his name!" she shrieked. "What the hell is wrong with me?" She asked. Her tears were forgotten and now she was staring at Kankuro, as if waiting for the answer.

He let out a terrified squeal that he disguised a cough. "I… don't know?" He backed away slightly. "Listen… maybe we should just get you home," he suggested. He was a little startled at how quickly her emotional transformations were going but he decided it might be better to just ride them out.

Tenten nodded, staring at the ground like it had done her personal harm. "This is junior year. I should be figuring out my life, not messing it up."

"Don't beat yourself up about it too much," Kankuro said.

Tenten sighed and started walking in the general direction of her house. It was more of a lumber then a walk but it seemed to be getting her towards where she needed to go, though she was weaving side to side on the sidewalk as she shuffled down it.

Kankuro steered her away from walking into the street and settled into a pace slightly behind her. He had no idea where her house was but he figured if Temari found out that he hadn't helped Tenten home after she had literally cried Niagara Falls then he would not wake up the following morning.

As they continued walked he was only thinking one thing: '_What do I do to get caught up in these things?'_


	30. We're Cheerleaders, We Are Cheerleaders!

**I don't own Naruto or Mystikal**

"_Shake ya ass… but watch yourself. Shake ya ass… show me what you're working with!"_

Hinata was bent over, everything from her head to her mid-torso under the hood of Ino's car. Ino was dropping it like it was hot a little ways away, dancing to the music blaring obnoxiously from her radio. "Thanks again for fixing my engine Hinata," Ino said, grinning at her and swishing her hair around as she danced.

"N-no problem," Hinata said weakly, glancing at the radio with a tired expression.

"I mean, I was sooo surprised when it just gave out!" Ino exclaimed, crossing her arms and coming to a standstill. "It really blows. I mean, how am I supposed to get to rehearsal? Take _public transportation_?" she said with a snort.

Hinata stifled a giggle as she continued to work.

"Um… sorry, Hinata?"

Hinata banged her head against the underside of the hood, startled. Ino snorted. "God Hinata, you are _such_ a spaz." Hinata looked behind her and saw Naruto standing there, looking worried.

"N-Naruto?" she asked, confused. She turned around so she was facing him, a wrench forgotten in her hand.

"Naruto? Why are you here?" Ino asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you, like, stalking Hinata or something?"

"No… but Sakura told me she was here and… well… listen… is there something wrong with Neji?" he asked, frowning slightly.

Hinata bit her lower lip. "He h-has been k-kind of… g-g-grouchy lately…" she said. Her eyes widened. "Why do you ask?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "He sort of… cussed me out in the mall. I mean, I accept that Neji has this thing with hating my guts and all, but it seemed weird that he'd act on it like that, so suddenly I mean."

Hinata's mouth fell open. "He d-did?" she asked, her voice rising in pitch in her distress.

"Woah, calm down Hinata," Ino interjected. She then looked over at Naruto. "Ever since the Neji-Tenten debacle we've kind of been… goading Neji. Just a little payback, but I didn't think he'd actually concentrate his anger at other people," she said, pursing her lips. "For someone who's supposed to be so level-headed he sure has been grouchy lately."

"Grouchy is one way to put it," Naruto said, giving a pointed look to Ino. Ino smirked and turned, sauntering towards her house.

Hinata still looked worried. "I c-can't believe he j-just… w-w-was it out o-of the b-blue?" she asked, her tone anxious.

"Uh… yeah, pretty much," Naruto said with a shrug. "Don't worry about it. Compared with him practically breaking my nose it wasn't much," he said, grinning. Hinata looked down, still looking anxious. "Hey, Hinata, it's ok," Naruto said.

"I k-know. But I f-feel so bad for y-you. I can i-imagine this is n-not the sort of th-thing you w-wanted to h-happen when you started… d-dating someone," she said, drumming the wrench against her leg nervously.

"And I can imagine you didn't want to have a stutter," Naruto said good-naturedly. "It's not like I hold what Neji does against you." He looked down at the wrench she was holding. "Hey, were you fixing Ino's car or something?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

Hinata nodded, brightening slightly. "Yeah. She was having some engine trouble so I'm just repairing it for her."

"I didn't really peg you as a repairing cars-type person," he said, moving a little closer. "It's kind of a turn-on," he said with a grin.

Hinata widened her eyes. "Oh," she said simply. She also moved forwards, only instead of just stopping like he had she stood up on her toes to kiss him.

The Next Day

"It really went that badly?" Sakura asked Tenten nervously.

Tenten nodded, her expression grim. "Oh yes. Yes it was. Remind me never to listen to Temari _ever_ again."

"Check. Never listen to Temari again," Sakura said, leaning against her desk in homeroom. "You know… I think I have a better idea then Temari's," Sakura remarked lightly.

"Really? What?" Tenten asked eagerly.

"Just… move on. Like, don't let him bother you. Just enjoy life and ignore him," she said.

Tenten opened her mouth to respond before stopping. "You know," she said after a moment's silence, "that actually sounds a lot better now that I'm reflecting on last night."

Sakura smiled triumphantly. "Yes! Just do that. You'll forget about Neji in no time."

"No time," Tenten echoed. She grinned, swaying slightly where she stood. "That definitely sounds good. No more hiding in upstairs bedrooms or crouching by tables in my underwear!" she exclaimed.

"Um, what?" Sakura asked, looking confused.

Tenten glanced around nervously. "Pretend I didn't say that," she said.

"Yeah… ok," Sakura responded, still looking at her funny.

Tenten nodded. "Yeah… so… I'm just going to go sit down… now… yeah," she said, trailing off as she walked off to her desk.

Sakura blinked several times before looking back down at her own desk. "Crouching by tables in her underwear?" she muttered, utterly confused. She shook her head and started rifling through her notes.

"Omigosh! Did you hear?" A girl asked. Sakura looked up, startled.

"Um, what?" she asked.

"Karin tore her rotator cuff in cheerleading practice! They're having tryouts!" she squealed before running off.

Sakura stared after her. "Do I even know her…?" she wondered aloud.

Later That Day

"Ino, I swear to god, you are the only one who can take her place."

Ino stared mulishly at three girls in cheerleading uniforms. They were around the back of the school and Ino leaned against the building as she surveyed them. "Seriously Ino," another one of them said. "You were a cheerleader since middle school. You have more experience then Karin did and there is no one else who has the qualifications _and_ the confidence to captain the squad."

"There's a reason I quit cheerleading," Ino said. "You guys are kind of mondo bitches and I actually have stuff I'm doing now! Important stuff!"

"More important than captaining the state-winning cheerleading team to regionals?" the first girl asked.

"Maybe," Ino responded.

"Ino, practices are only a couple times a week. Anyone can make that schedule!" they exclaimed.

"I have rehearsal most weeknights and why would I want to do cheerleading practices and work on figuring out the routines and work on team spirit and all that?" Ino demanded.

One of the girls looked at her earnestly. "Ino, you loved cheerleading. We may be a bit… snotty at times, but that doesn't change that we're a team and we need you. Please."

Ino stared at her, trying to think up a quick response. Finally she threw down her hands in exasperation. "Fine! I'll do it!" she exclaimed. "This better not get in the way with rehearsals."

"Nooo," they said quickly. "Practice totally ends before your rehearsal would start!"

"Whatever," she said.

"Thank you so much!" They squealed. One of them hugged her before freezing and backing off.

Ino smiled slightly. "You guys must be freshmen. Everyone else on that team knows enough not to approach me about cheerleading stuff."

They grinned. "Yep! Total frosh," one of them piped up.

Ino sighed. "Ok. First things first, get me a full roster of the team. I want to know the complete scores from state _and_ all routines you guys have been working on. I'll talk to coach about how team morale is going. I trust I can depend on you guys to grab me a spare uniform from storage until I can order a fitted one?" They nodded vigorously. "Good. Get me a small, try not to let it have any spares. Have there been any drastic changes in uniform color since I left?"

"Nope!" The tallest of the three said.

"Good. That means my white shoes and hair ribbons will still work. I'm a little out of shape but a few extra hours in the gym will fix that up," she muttered, now talking more to herself than them. She started and looked back at them. "Ok, I need time to look over everything and talk with coach. Can you guys survive until next practice?"

They all nodded, huge grins covering their faces. "Awesome. Well girls, go tell your team that they've got a new captain and she is definitely planning on getting to nationals this year."

That Night

"You rejoined the cheerleading team?"

Sakura sounded shocked. Ino had waited until she got home from school and rehearsal to inform Sakura about her decision. She knew Sakura would be surprised and she had wanted to wait to let herself work up the patience to tell her. "Yeah… and not just rejoined."

"What do you mean?" Sakura sounded surprised.

"I'm the new team captain," Ino said, chewing on her lower lip.

She heard a gasp from the other end of the line. "Omigosh! Really?"

"Uh, yeah," Ino said, flopping down on her bed, still holding her phone to her ear.

"Um…. C-congratulations." Sakura sounded like she was being forcefully cheery.

Ino raised an eyebrow. "How touching," she remarked wryly. "Listen, I know you aren't a fan of the team, but to be honest, some of the members of the science club aren't exactly a basket of roses and I know how overprotective you are of your science club nerdos."

"They're not nerdos!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Sakura. _You're_ a nerdo too," Ino said affectionately.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she said. Ino could practically hear her eyes rolling.

"Love you too," Ino said, with a touch of snootiness in her voice. "Anyway I got to go. I really need to get some sleep before the test tomorrow."

"Kay! Night!" Sakura said chirpily.

"Yeah, night."


	31. Serious Life Crap

**Authors Note:**

**Well, it's official. I absolutely despise that fact that sometimes decides to just remove any italics or bold I've put in my stories (and don't give me that 'Microsoft Word doesn't work' crap . I so know you guys are compatible). Just know, sometimes there should be italics in places that will make my writing seem so much less… drama-queen/teeny-bopper. ;)**

**Also, thanks you guys for all of the reviews I get! I have to say, those reviews actually are the reasons I've started posting chapters again, so thanks for the motivation. :)**

**I do not own Naruto**

"I can't believe soccer season is almost over!"

Tenten nodded, stripper off her mud-coated jersey. "Yeah. It really sucks. We've got, what, one more game? And then nada."

Another member of the soccer team, a tall black girl with really curly hair, nodded. "I know. I'm going to miss it so much."

The team captain, Cecilia, strode over to where they were standing, getting out of their wet clothing from practice so they could shower off. "Don't be such drama queens girls," she commanded. Everything Hoshi said was somewhat commanding. It was probably her excessively British accent and the fact that her parents could literally buy the town if they wanted. She was a good sort of person though and very quick to tell if the team was having a problem. "I mean, aren't you guys going to sign up for a winter sport?" she continued.

Most of the girls nodded. "I can't," said one dejectedly. "I'm a horrible swimmer, so no swim team, and my doctor told me to take my ankle easy for a few months so that rules everything else out." A few girls gave their apologies and Cecilia patted her soothingly on the back. "Don't worry Melissa. You'll be good as new by spring."

"Well," started Tenten, deciding to break the silence. "I'm definitely signing up. I'm a horror at basketball though. I was thinking swim team, or maybe volleyball because they practice year round."

A couple girls groaned. "Oh god Tenten, if you sign up for winter volleyball they'll want you for the rest of your high school career," a red head piped up.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Bullshit."

"Whatever! Girls! Shower off," Cecilia said, walking towards the showers.

Tenten was getting her hair down before Melissa spoke up. "So Tenten, how are things going with you and Neji? Have you guys… sorted everything out?"

Tenten looked over at Melissa, glaring slightly, though she didn't know it. Melissa's face fell. "Can I take your expression as a no?"

Tenten sighed. "I've decided just to move on," she explained, digging through her bag for shampoo.

Melissa smiled slightly. "Good job," she said encouragingly.

"Yeah, who needs Neji right?" Tenten said weakly. She grabbed her towel and walked towards the showers.

'_Who needs him…'_

At The Same Time

"The thing is Ms. Hyuuga, you've got great grades here, but you are woefully lacking extracurriculars."

Hinata sat nervously, fidgeting around in her seat. She was meeting with a high school counselor about college applications. He was looking over her high school transcripts with her to show her her weak spots and stronger areas. "W-what do you m-mean?" she asked quietly.

"Well, you were a member of the math club in middle school and freshmen year before you quit. You aren't on a sports team, in student government, in a club, involved in a society… it says here that you volunteer every Saturday at your local library and that you take dance classes. That's good, but I can't see anything on here that clues me into what you're really passionate about," he said, placing her transcript down in front of him.

"P-passionate about…?" Hinata echoed.

"Yes. What is it that you want to do in college after high school?"

Hinata stared at him, opening and closing her mouth several times before he spoke again. "I see… Ms. Hyuuga, colleges look at your transcripts not just because of your grades. They're looking for things you are passionate about, things you care about, to show that you are a hard-working person who has a goal in mind. You take dance classes but you don't do anything else involving dance. You volunteer at your library, but why? Before you do anything else you need to figure out exactly what you are going to go to college to do." He started neatening his papers and sliding them into a file.

"When you've figured it out come in for another appointment," he said, making it clear that she could go. She stood up silently, picked up her jacket from the back of her chair, and walked wordlessly out of his office.

_What do I want to do…_

_What do I want to do…_

_I don't know._

_I have no idea._

Hinata felt like crying. She didn't have the tiniest bit of an idea about what she wanted to do with her life. All she had concentrated on was getting good grades. She practiced tai chi with her father, took ballet classes a few times a week at her parent's insistence, and practiced her instruments, also at their insistence. But nothing she was passionate about. Nothing she thought about that was accompanied with a surge of happiness. The only things that she thought about when that happened were Hanabi, her friends, Naruto… people.

She slid on her coat as she walked down the hall, towards the parking lot. There were fliers on the walls, one reminding people of the winter tolo coming up, a few from the various winter sports teams looking for players, a couple advertising books and instruments for sale.

'Bright blue electric strat, good condition, extra pack of strings included, CHEAP!'

'Girls Volleyball Winter

LOOKING FOR PLAYERS

Contact Team-Captain Katie Witley for information'

'Don't Forget: The annual winter tolo is coming up! December 2nd, doors open at 7 p.m. Guests allowed by permission only. Tickets 15% off until November 20th!'

She could hear the drill team practicing off in the distance as she banged through the double doors and walked towards the parking lot. She would be busing home but the quickest way to the bus stop was to cut straight though the parking lot. At this point in her journey to the stop she was starting to hyperventilate as the reality of what the counselor had said sunk in. She had no deciding qualities and only two years to make herself stand out as a human being. She felt lucky that there was no one in the parking lot as she moved quickly through it, walking around pickups and Subaru's and the occasional foreign luxury car.

She saw the bus start to pull into the stop in the distance as she walked and she broke into a sprint for it. It started to drive off, not noticing her as she ran right up to it. "W-wait!" she called desperately, still sprinting, trying to keep up as it drove off. She stopped, her coat starting to fall off one shoulder, as she stared at the bus driving away.

Later That Day

"What do you mean do I have anything that I want to be doing in college?" Sakura asked, confused, as she reorganized her textbooks. She had a phone held to her ear as she organized her already tidy desk. Hinata was on the other end of the line and was being very cryptic. She hadn't explained why she was asking these weird questions and Sakura was thoroughly confused.

She heard Hinata mumble a response and Sakura sighed. "Nevermind. Yes, I know what I want to do. I'm going to study astronomy and astrophysics. I thought I told you guys that already," she said, still confused. She stood on her toes to put her math book where it belonged, pushing it in so it wouldn't fall out. "Why do you want to know?" she asked.

"Uh, no reason I g-guess. I'm j-just trying to think of w-what I want to s-study…" Hinata said on the other end of the line.

"Oh… well I always figured you'd end up doing something with math," Sakura said matter-a-factly. "I mean, weren't you in math club for four years or something?" she asked, finishing up working on her desk and going over to flop down in her window seat.

"Yeah, I s-suppose," Hinata said quickly. "Anyway, I-I got to g-go. See you t-tomorrow, S-sakura." The line went dead and Sakura blinked a few times.

"That was weird," she muttered, turning the phone off and laying it beside her on the seat. She stared out of the window at the sky, which was already quite dark. She had no idea why Hinata was suddenly thinking about college. She had never struck her as someone particularly preoccupied with that part of her life. Sakura however, had had her degree picked out since grade school when her dad had gotten a telescope and she had almost broken it staring at Jupiter.

She supposed that might be a tad obsessive, but the fact that for a while she had wanted to be an ice cream taste tester for a while and at one point a book critic just proved that when tested against other careers that involved either sitting around eating delicious creamy ice cream or reading books and breaking the writers fragile spirits, her current aspirations to be an awesome space scientist (her own words) won out.

Nerd for life.


	32. There's Work To Be Done

**Authors Note: Okay-doky, well I am neither a photographer nor a cheerleader (totally different sport for me ;)), however those are two things I will be including in many of my chapters to come. Of course I'm doing my research, especially when it comes to the cheerleading stunts, but I wouldn't expect something completely accurate if I were y'all. I'm just saying this now so a real photographer or cheerleader doesn't get annoyed/offended by my description of the respective things. Both cheerleading and photography is really hard so don't think that my inaccuracy is disrespect! Thanks! :D**

**I don't own Naruto**

**No lamps were (almost) harmed in the making of this fanfiction.**

Ino could hear laughing from the gymnasium. She was brushing her long blonde hair up into a high ponytail. A bit of hairspray went into it to keep it from frizzing and she tied it back neatly. She was dressed simply, with a pair of spandex athletic shorts, a school t-shirt, and a pair of very clean sneakers tied tightly to her feet. She checked herself over in the mirror, making sure her mascara (waterproof—she wasn't an idiot and knew that she would be sweating in a little while) wasn't smudged and that her hair wouldn't get loose. "Okay, let's go," she muttered to herself. She grabbed the clipboard that lay on the bench near her and strode out of the locker room doors into the gym.

Silence fell extremely quickly over the group of girls who were gathered around the bleachers. Ino kept walking, staring straight ahead of her as she did, into the middle of the gym and turned neatly to face the group. "Okay, I have no doubt that coach informed you about Karin being replaced as captain due to her unfortunate injury," she said, her tone completely business-like as she observed the girls, all in athletic wear similar to hers. "I'm Ino Yamanaka for those of you who don't know, the new captain of this team. I've been a cheerleader for 5 years, though I, obviously, haven't been cheerleading for the past couple months. Due to the circumstances though I'm back, and since coach won't be in for practice today, I'll be running it."

She looked at them and smiled jauntily. "Ok! So, I think I know everyone's names and what roles each of you have been serving in stunts. So let's just start out practice with some cross-training before we get into drills and cheers. The final games of the season are coming up in a little over a week and I am sure you guys want to make a great impression for the last game of the football season, so let's go!"

Ino had been staying up late for the past few nights going over the sort of things coach advised her on, what her old team captains did on the team, how they would lead practice, etc. She had even watched Bring It On a couple times to get pumped up, but she was still extremely nervous about actually having to run her first practice ever. She had more experience cheering then anyone on the team, including the seniors, but it was still nerve-wracking to lead them through some dynamic stretching before starting on calisthenics and laps. It became obvious which members of the team had which strengths. Which girls were the fastest runners, which had the most upper body strength, core strength, leg strength, which ones seemed to suck it up when it got tough doing laps and which ones seemed like they'd be harder to deal with.

She lead them through drills all day, not wanting to have to deal with routines this practice, but she did go through the "Hello Cheer" for practice at the end of practice. What with all the jump drills that day she felt like she did more toe touches and pikes then she had in the last five years… except for during that psycho routine for sophomore regionals. Of course, the team that year had been so horrible it had been a miracle they even got to regionals. Thank god all of the seniors had graduated. If Ino had to captain that team she might die a little inside. She was just glad she was confident enough to work on some cupies before practice ended. "Ok, awesome practice guys!" she said cheerfully as they trickled out. She sighed, collapsing onto one of the bottom bleachers. "Good god…" she muttered. "Like I didn't have enough stress in my life."

It only took a little while for her to shower off, reapply her makeup, and be heading out of school to grab some dinner before rehearsal. She knew as she was driving away that this new schedule was going to be the absolute death of her. Add to that that regionals were in the beginning of December, which gave her around 4 weeks to prepare, and that she knew there were bunches of seniors on the team who wanted redemption from last year… she needed to get them to place at regionals.

"Goddammit…"

That Night

Ino was lying on her bed, her homework lying in front of her. It was mostly finished, but what she was concentrating on now was looking over the game and competition schedule for the next couple months. They had two more football games, one tomorrow and one the week after that, the same day as a pep rally. Then they had a break before the first basketball games started, but that would just mean that the break would be occupied with regionals prep. Ino groaned, leaning forwards so her head dropped onto the pile of papers in front of her. "Why is life so complicated?" she moaned, pouting.

Her phone suddenly rang loudly. She started before grabbing her phone accepted the call before she saw who it was. "Yeah?" she asked, sounding extremely tired.

"Hey, it's Sai."

Ino perked up immediately. "Hi!" she said. "I am so glad you called, I am having the most stressful time!"

"Really? Why?" he asked mildly.

"Omigosh, ok, so you know how I got talked into captaining the cheerleading team?" She heard him say yes and continued into her explanation. "Ok, so I have cheerleading practice four times a week and rehearsal four times a week and a game tomorrow and a pep rally next week and then regionals in a month, and the play opens in a month and a half and I'm still trying to pass English, and I need to worry about what other classes I'm taking for next semester! I am freaking out! How am I supposed to handle all this AND plan my Christmas party? Oh yeah, and buy Christmas presents!" She let out a scream of annoyance. "This is going to be such a stressful couple of months," she moaned.

"Are you going to resign as captain?" he asked.

Ino gasped. "Nooo! I promised them I'd captain them to regionals, and I am aiming to get them to nationals too. Just because it takes a lot of time doesn't mean I'm going to resign!" She signed. "God Sai, how have you survived in high school without knowing this stuff?" she asked impatiently.

"No idea," he said, sounding amused.

"Humph… some supportive boyfriend you are," she complained.

"Sorry, did you want a pity party or something?" he asked.

Ino frowned. "Pity party is not the phrase I'd choose," she said indignantly.

"Oh, sorry. I'm not really good with phraseology."

She sighed and flopped back against her pillows. "No, it's ok. Sorry, I'm just really grouchy. It'll be fine though. Once I get through the last of the football season and get used to the schedule I'll be totally fine." She pursed her lips. "I dunno though… there's something about the team that just seems off… I feel like I'm missing something that could really make it better. I just don't know what it is though. Everyone's fit and they all seem well versed in the basic stuff. A couple of those girls actually hit better toe touches then I did." That reminded her to stretch out. She wasn't as flexible as she had been a few months ago, and she sunk into the splits. It took some working up into full ones instead of just being able to slide into them like before, but practice makes perfect. "I just don't know what it is. Maybe I'm just being paranoid after last year's team."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. After you watch a couple more practices I'm sure you'll figure it out," he said. Ino smiled.

"Thanks. For someone who is super unemotional, that actually made me feel good," she said. Suddenly her eyes started to droop. She had gotten out of rehearsal early because they weren't doing many of her scenes that day, so it was only 10:30, but two nights in a row of staying up late and getting up really early were catching up to her. "God… I'm so tired," she muttered. "I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night."

"Night Sai!" she said cheerfully, before hanging up. She grabbed her papers and dumped them onto her desk before just stripping down and climbing into bed.

"Yay… sleep…"

Elsewhere…

"Are you kidding?"

Temari's voice hit a new pitch and volume previously uninhabited by anything baring dog whistles. She shrieked in joy, jumping around like she was having some sort of fit. She clutched a crumpled piece of paper in one hand as she thrashed around, almost knocking her table lamp over. An envelope floated serenely to the ground as she dropped it and she flung herself onto her bed, staring at the piece of paper once more. It was addressed to her and was very formal, like it was typed up by someone in a business suit, sitting in a cherry corner office.

Ok, so maybe typed up by the secretary of the person in a business suit in the corner office.

It was from a very reputable magazine that published photographers work. It was well know to be a magazine that could make a career if you got published in it. Right now it was having a contest for amateur photographers. The top ten finishers would be interviewed for an article and they would each have full spreads published in it. Temari had submitted her urban graffiti piece to it in the hopes of getting picked and they had written to her to inform her that she had passed the first cut. There would be two more rounds that would determine who, out of the 500 remaining photographers, would be chosen. She would have to submit another piece to get evaluated but just getting picked in the top 500 out of god knows how many photographers was amazing. She hadn't really considered herself part of the running until now.

She let out another holler before giggling hysterically. This really was the best news she had gotten in a while.

She heard a knock on her door. "Come in," she said, still laughing. Gaara poked his head in, frowning at her. She grinned. "What is it?"

"Are you ok? It sounded like something was dying in here," he said.

Temari giggled. "Nope! I am okay-doky. Tee hee…"

Gaara blinked. "What?"

"Oh god Gaara!" Temari exclaimed, jumping up from where she was lying. "I have to tell you! I've been picked in the top 500 photographers who will be able to stay in the running for that photography contest I told you about! Isn't it _awesome_?"

Gaara raised his eyebrows. "Wow. Good job."

Temari rolled her eyes. "You are _so_ enthusiastic," she said sarcastically.

"Yeah, that's me," he said, walking off. Temari shook her head, too overjoyed to let his lack of emotion color her happiness. She grabbed the letter, looked at it affectionately once more, before pinning it to her white board that hung above her desk.

"This is my goal," she muttered to herself. She'd have to put together a new spread by the deadline which was in a few weeks. She sighed; it didn't give her a lot of time. She figured it was partially because of time limits for the magazine and partially because they wanted to see how well the photographers could work with deadlines. "I can do this," she muttered, nodding to herself. For her, the hardest part of a spread was getting imbued with the spirit of what she was photographing. There were so many amazing opportunities, but she needed something really inspiring to give her an idea for what to do the spread on.

She stared at the letter with triumph. She knew she was going to work her butt off for this. She just needed to get inspired. "I need a muse…" she muttered, sighing. Seeing as she didn't have one she'd just need to do the dirty work of having ideas by herself.

"Okay… let's do this bitch."


	33. Depression, Stress, and Cake

"Smile!"

Sakura looked up to see a flashbulb go off in her face. "Ah!" she exclaimed, closing her eyes quickly and raising her arms to shield herself from the light. A girl looked at her over the top of her camera sheepishly.

"Sorry. I should have given you more warning," she said with a weak smile.

Sakura just looked at her, her mouth open slightly. "Um… why are you taking my picture?"

"I work for the school paper and we're supposed to do a photo thing on the newly refurbished home ec room today," she said with a grin. "Don't mind me. Just keep on with your work."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah… ok…" she turned back to part of the cake ingredients she was mixing. She sighed. "This is just too boring," she said to Sasuke, who was standing next to her. She didn't hear an answer and so looked over at him.

He was staring at the bowl of ingredients he was in charge with in horror. In it was a strange puffy mixture that looked like it hadn't been properly stirred. She blinked down at it. "What is it?" she asked.

He shook his head, no words coming out. She snorted. "Oh my god. Could you be any more of a guy?" she asked. She picked up the ingredients he had been mixing. "Why did you put baking soda in here… and congealed stock?"

"It said baking soda and oil! I didn't see the oil but I figured animal fat would substitute," he said, still looking horrified. She choked.

"It says baking powder, not soda!" she exclaimed. "And animal fat as a substitute? Stock isn't even animal fat!"

"It isn't?" he asked, blinking.

"No Sasuke… it isn't," she said, shaking her head. "Ok, I'll just remix it. Can you… throw that away?" she asked.

He nodded and picked up the bowl, walking over towards the garbage. Sakura was working hard not to start laughing. The corners of her mouth twitched as she quickly re-measured the ingredients into a fresh bowl and mixed it. She mixed both bowls of ingredients together and started to stir vigorously. Sasuke returned, looking solemn. "Sorry 'bout that," he said, sounding embarrassed.

Sakura shook her head. "It's fine," she said with a smile. "I'm kind of amazed you're not failing this class though," she giggled.

"Who says I'm not?" he asked, eyebrows raised. She stared at him, pausing her stirring momentarily.

"You are?" she asked, eyes wide, as she resumed her stirring.

"Almost," he admitted. "I already knew how to make cupcakes so I got an A on that…"

She stared at him. "You know how to make cupcakes?"

He shrugged. "Just one recipe. I'm not used to having to use different ingredients for different things," he said, making a face at the batter.

Sakura snickered. "Yeah. I'm sure you're not."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked mildly, one eyebrow raised.

Sakura giggled. "No offense, but you aren't exactly in touch with your feminine side Sasuke," she said with a teasing aspect to her voice.

"No shit," he said dryly.

"Well haven't you heard?" Sakura said, finishing off whipping the batter with a rather manly grunt, before grabbing the greased pan and beginning to pour the mixture into it. "Girls are into guys with a little bit more femininity now. It's like a whole big thing."

He shrugged. "You don't seem to be," he remarked.

"Maybe I am. Maybe you're just a fluke," she said chipperly as she started scraping out the bowl.

"That's me. The fluke boyfriend," he said with a long-suffering sigh.

Sakura snorted as she slid the pan into the oven. Then she paused, taking a moment to close it, before turning back to face him. "Hey Sasuke… do you know what's up with Neji?"

He frowned slightly. "He seems to be pretty stressed lately. I dunno… just wound pretty tight."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah… I guess the whole Tenten thing is stressing him out a bit."

Sasuke shrugged. "Yeah. I don't know if it's just Tenten though. I'm not sure, but maybe there's something else going on too."

"Something else?" Sakura asked, her eyebrows flying up.

"Yeah… I'm just not sure what…"

Later That Day

Neji was stressed. Actually, stressed might be the understatement of the century. He felt like his life was imploding. He wasn't sure what exactly he was doing. He wasn't exactly that much in control of his life actually. Ironically, this had seemed to start around the time Tenten had broken up with him. That was when he had started going through the anger/rage stage of getting over his helplessness. A helplessness caused by his uncles statement that, in fact, he was planning on passing on the company president to Neji instead of one of his actual daughters. Now Neji had moved onto the depression stage.

In fact, he had spent the last three evenings lying on his bed staring at his ceiling with absolutely no thought going through his head other than a sort of dull buzz and a slightly sick feeling. He wasn't completely sure he had actually talked with another human other than a couple teachers and someone demanding to see if he had a hall pass. He hadn't been to his dojo, any place outside of school, or his own living room in days.

He felt trapped. He had never wanted to run his family's business. He just wanted to continue teaching weekly karate classes and not having to speak to Tenten, who was a bit of a sore spot for him, though right now she was the last thing on his mind.

Actually, there wasn't much on his mind right now. Other then despair. Utter despair.

Now the only thing running through his head was how horrendously emo he sounded. Also, more despair.

That Night

Ino was in the locker room, waiting for her cheerleaders to group up. She looked pristine in a very neat, well cleaned and ironed cheerleading uniform. It was sleeveless and in the Konoha school colors of red with gold and black trim. She had put up her hair by putting it into a high ponytail, braiding it, and then winding it into a bun. She had sprayed it liberally with hairspray so it would stay up and used equally as liberal amounts of deodorant to mask any sweating, and she now smelled like a mix of hairspray and tropical fruit. She checked her spanx and knelt to retie and double knot her shoes, mostly out of nerves, and partially because she remembered one practice during 8th grade when her shoelace had come loose and she almost tripped and sprained something on a dismount.

When she stood up her cheerleaders were lining up in front of her, sitting on the benches and leaning against the lockers. They all wore identical uniforms and stark white shoes, with their hair pinned or tied up. The experienced girls looked bright eyed with mild smiles, while the new Freshmen and Sophomores looked slightly nauseous. Ino smiled encouragingly at them. "Alright guys. It's just another game. Just remember, stay aware of the team at all times. You don't want to be doing the defense cheer if they're the offense. Even worse, the score cheer if they just lost the ball. We had a good practice today. Try to remember to not lock your legs in the stunts… overextending would be pretty bad." She checked the clock and saw it was about time to go out onto the field.

"So... get your game faces on girls! We can do it!" She put her hand out in front of her and the cheerleaders grouped around to add their hands in as well. "Go… Konoha!" They shouted. They walked out of the locker room and onto the track that surrounded the football field.

"Go Konoha!" she yelled to the crowd, the cheerleaders behind her yelling out similar encouragements to the football team. Ino had a huge smile plastered onto her face as they jumped up and down. After a few moments they got in formation for the Hello cheer. They executed it without any major mistakes and it went the same for the first half of the game. She did high kicks and pikes excellently and the stunts they did involved practically no wobbling legs.

It was around the halftime show when things started to fall apart though. The girls were trying one stunt they had been working on for a while when Essa stumbled. This might not have been a huge deal if she hadn't done it while she was the base for a cupie. The girl she was hoisting up let out a strangled shriek as she tumbled down, landing on one of the spotters, who promptly collapsed and tripped a horrified looking Essa who stumbled into Cerie who landed flat on her face. Ino stared down at them from her cupie in horror. She and the other flyers quickly dismounted, and she knelt down to check on the girls. "Are you ok?" she asked hurriedly.

Cerie nodded, picking herself up of the ground. Essa had already gotten up and was checking on Maybe, the girl she had dropped. The spotter was winded but she had managed to throw herself from under Maybe right before they landed and seemed fine. Maybe was clutching her ankle though, her fact scrunched up in pain. Ino bit her lip hard and she and Essa hoisted up Maybe between them as they rushed her off of the field as the other cheerleaders gave a rushed finish and ran off the field. The crowd was wide-eyed and watched Essa, Maybe, and Ino as they reached the cheerleading coach. They set her down carefully as the coach and the school nurse knelt besides Maybe.

"Is it broken?" Ino and the coach asked the nurse in unison. The nurse was checking Maybe's ankle gently.

"Can you move it?" the nurse asked.

Maybe gritted her teeth and nodded. "It hurts though."

The nurse shook her head. "It's not broken but I think it's sprained."

Ino stared up at the dark sky and bit back a stream of curses that threatened to come spilling from her lips.

'Goddammit…!'


	34. Thinking Time

**I don't own Naruto**

Sakura had watched the entire event with the cheerleaders unfold from up where she sat in the bleachers. She had decided to go to this one game to cheer on Ino in her first venture as cheerleading captain. However the cascade of horror that started mid-way through the halftime show stopped her cheering in mid-yell, and she watched with wide eyes as the nurse and coach brought Maybe off the field and Ino shakily tried to regroup her cheerleaders for the second half of the game.

Sakura knew nothing about cheerleading but she knew their confidence was shot. They messed up simple moves and Ino looked closer and closer to cracking under stress as the game wore on and the cheerleaders got more frantic. The end of the game finally came, with a 21-17; Konoha's loss. The football team walked off the field dejectedly, and the cheerleading team followed. Sakura picked herself carefully up and walked out of the bleachers, following the cheerleaders towards the locker room. She paused until she could no longer hear the coach talking. From the tone of her voice she knew she must be chewing them out.

The coach finally stomped out of the locker room, and Sakura waited a few more minutes until she slipped inside. Ino was sitting on a bench, her head resting in her hands. "Ino?" Sakura asked quietly. Ino shook her head and Sakura went to sit down beside her.

"I can't believe that happened," Ino said, looking up at Sakura. She looked drawn and worried.

"Was it really that big of a deal?" Sakura asked, trying to sound optimistic.

"She sprained her ankle, Sakura," Ino said, her tone angry. "We just lost one of our best flyers because one of our bases couldn't get a frickin foothold." Ino shook her head. "It wasn't all Essa's fault though… she's not the best base we have. Realistically she would do better just tumbling, but we don't have enough girls with the right muscles. Even our spotters aren't the strongest they could be. You saw Yano out there," Ino said, referring to the spotter who had almost been crushed by Maybe, "She couldn't even stop Maybe from falling."

Sakura frowned slightly, not in annoyance but in concentration. "What are you going to do about it then?" she asked. "Make them lift more weights?"

Ino nodded. "Definitely more weight lifting, but… I don't think we can gain as much muscle as we need by regionals. Unless we take out all of the more risky stunts something like this could happen again and again. And if we did that there's no way we could even be in the running for a spot at Nationals."

"So… you just need more muscle?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah…" Ino said, looking thoughtful.

"Maybe you could try some of those muscle-building protein sh-" Sakura started, before Ino interrupted her.

"I've got it!" She exclaimed, standing up. The few cheerleaders who were still grabbing their things looked up in bewilderment from across the locker room. Ino lowered her tone excitedly as they left. "More muscle, but in a little amount of time… we need to make this team co-ed!" Ino said, grinning from ear to ear.

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Co-ed? But, who would do it? Most of the guys who are athletes are already on cross-country or football or something this season."

Ino nodded. "Yes, but fall's almost over and then people will be signing up for winter sports. If we can get enough guys interested in just trying out, we could end up with a group of spotters and bases good enough to not get anyone injured!" She jumped up and down excitedly. "It's perfect!"

Sakura was still staring at her. "What will your squad say?"

Ino appeared to wilt for a moment before shaking her head, her face set stubbornly. "They won't have to say anything. This is just the way it's going to happen, and that's that." She smiled. "Oh man, coach is going to be happy I'm captain after she hears this."

The Next Day

Hinata sat in a coffee shop, drooping over her chamomile all natural herbal tea. She had been doing a lot of drooping lately, as she thought about her life that woefully lacked direction. She had been thinking and thinking about what she wanted to do, and nothing came up. She liked dancing, but she wasn't good enough and didn't have the body or desire to become a professional ballet dancer. She liked math but so did a lot of people and not everyone became mathematicians. Volunteering in the library was nice because she liked the peace, quiet, and array of books but she didn't want to be a librarian. She sighed deeply and took a sip of her tea, looking up to see if Naruto had arrived already.

Just as she looked up he walked cheerfully into the shop, cheerfully ordered a coffee, and cheerfully walked over to Hinata. Everything he did seemed… cheerful. Hinata hadn't realized that she was staring at him like a kicked puppy until he stopped, about to pull out the chair, and stared down at her. "Hinata, are you ok?" he asked, looking alarmed. "Did I do something?"

Hinata blinked up at him, confused, until she realized her face was pulled into a miserable expression and she attempted a smile, shaking her head. "Oh, no, it's not you…" she said, trailing off and taking a quick sip of tea.

Naruto sat down, his face scrunched up. "What is it then?" he asked, sounding worried.

Hinata shook her head, suddenly feeling like crying. "Nothing… I just…" she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "I just have had to think about some difficult things lately."

"Like?" Naruto asked.

"Like… what I'm doing with my life, my passions, what kind of person I want to be," she said.

Naruto took a swig of his drink. "That doesn't sound so bad… what have you figured out?"

Hinata shuddered. "I've found out I have absolutely no idea who I am or what I'm doing with my life," she said, her face getting red and splotchy and her eyes getting really glassy as she struggled to hold in tears.

Naruto looked alarmed. He had absolutely no idea what to do other than that he felt horrible for Hinata and wanted to make her feel better. Beyond that he didn't have a clue about what you should say or do in this situation. Naruto had known what he wanted to do for most of his life. He wanted to kickbox. Simple as that. It had started as a mix of loving martial arts and a misinterpretation of a part of Say Anything he had caught a glimpse of when he was 5 and his babysitter thought he was asleep. He didn't know what to do for people who didn't know what they wanted in life.

Hinata rested her forehead on the table, the splotchiness subsiding as a few tears she hadn't shed in the past few days leaked out. She was too tired to really cry and she sighed. "It actually felt good to tell someone that…" she murmured, her face still pressed into the table.

"I'm glad," Naruto said, his face scrunched up slightly as he desperately tried to think of something to do to comfort her.

"It's just hard to have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm going," she said, looking up at him with a lost expression.

He decided that because he obviously wasn't doing much with words that maybe just holding her hand will help. From her smile, it seemed too, though Naruto was still thinking about what she was saying and if there was anything he could do to help her figure out what she loved enough to do for the rest of her life.

That Afternoon

"Maybe… birds… everyone likes birds."

Temari was talking to herself. Not in an insane way, but in a desperately-trying-to-figure-out-what-to-do-for-photography-contest way. None of the ideas she had had were all that good. She was slumped over in a coffee shop, tapping a pen on a pad of a paper. The paper was titled, Photo Ideas, and other than that it was completely blank. She closed her eyes and leaned back, sighing deeply. She could smell coffee, a strange, enticing herby scent, and something fresh and bready.

She opened her eyes and looked back at the pastry case. She had already managed to polish off a couple pastries for breakfast that morning, but now she saw they were placing fresh chocolate croissants into the case. Her mouth started to water and she grabbed her bag, leaving her pen, book, and notepad on the table, and marching over to the line. A minute and 2.63 dollars later she was back at her table and taking a nibble of the croissant. She had had a bit of a stress headache but now the sugar and food was helping to clear her head and the pain.

The next thing she knew her face was pressed against the tablecloth, she was drooling slightly, and someone was staring down at her. The light streaming out of the window was now dusky instead of as bright as it had been that afternoon. "You ok?" a voice asked.

Temari squinted up at the face above her and felt her stomach drop slightly. "Shikamaru… what are you doing?"

"Well, you looked like you were passed out and there's half a croissant shoved in your mouth. I wasn't sure if you were drunk on a Saturday afternoon or in a coma," Shikamaru said, his hands shoved into his pockets.

Temari sat up. Indeed, a soggy looking croissant sat beneath her on the table. It looked to be about 5 o'clock and she shook her head, feeling that half of her hair was squashed flat. "I'm not drunk and I was definitely not in a coma. Why do you even care?"

"You started to choke on the croissant."

Temari blinked. "Oh dang… well, thanks, I guess…" she trailed off awkwardly. "So, what are you doing here anyways?" she asked, sounding slightly pathetic.

"Just getting tea," he said, motioning to the cup he held. "What about you? Other then catching up on some sleep."

"Ah… Uhm, just trying to think up ideas for a photography shoot," Temari said, sighing and looking at her pad of paper. Still empty. She didn't expect it to have been filled up while she was sleeping, but one can dream. She slumped over, shoving the croissant away from her. "Any ideas, o person with no passions?" she asked, needling him a bit.

"Who says I don't have any passions?" Shikamaru asked, one eyebrow raised.

Temari snorted. "Yeah, of course you have passions. Because you so obviously care about things." She shook her head. "Nevermind. I'm just going to… go sleep more," she said, putting her things in her bag and picking up the croissant.

He shrugged. "Have a nice sleep," he said, walking off for a seat in the corner.

She walked outside before she remembered to throw the croissant out. Seeing some crows, she hesitated, and tore it into small pieces before scattering it for them. Then she climbed into her car and got ready to drive off. She felt a little bad about saying that he didn't care about anything, but she shrugged him off.

"It's not like I was wrong or anything…"


	35. Operation: CoEd

**I don't own Naruto.**

**Sorry if I'm spending too much time on just one or two characters. I promise that that won't be the case for much longer. Enjoy!**

Sakura was lying on her back in a park, staring up at the sky as it gradually grew dark, the stars starting to slowly appear. She had serious doubts as to if the squad could go co-ed. There were very few athletic guys with enough muscle mass to throw around people at the school who would be also willing to take all of the crap male cheerleaders often were confronted with. At least the male cheerleaders she'd seen in movies. She sighed. She felt for Ino, who seemed so sure her idea would be a success. Sakura had tried to steer her towards more doable options but Ino had quickly brushed her off before leaving.

"Poor Ino," Sakura muttered.

"Why 'poor Ino'?"

Sakura looked up and saw Sasuke standing over her. She had been waiting for him to arrive and she grinned up at him. "Hi!" she said.

"Why 'poor Ino'?" Sasuke repeated, sitting down next to her.

Sakura shook her head. "Not even a hello in response," she said teasingly. Then she made a face. "'Poor Ino' because the cheerleading team is in trouble and she thought of a plan to fix it that I don't think will work. Ino doesn't realize it yet," she explained.

Sasuke blinked. "Should I even ask...?"

"She wants to make the squad co-ed... with only a month until their regional competition," Sakura said. "Can you imagine?"

Sasuke's eyebrows flew up. "Really?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah," Sakura said, propping herself up on her elbows so she was lounging. "I mean... are there many guys in Konoha that you know who would be willing to deal with all of the backlash that could possibly come from being a male cheerleader?"

Sakura sighed. "I think it would be really cool if we had a co-ed team that could do all of those amazing stunts that you hear about, but I don't know if it will happen as quickly as Ino would like..." she trailed off, before shaking her head slightly. "Anyway, what did you feel like doing?" she asked, brightening slightly and looking over at him.

Sasuke kept staring straight ahead. "Sasuke?" Sakura asked, waving her hand in front of his face. He shook his head and blinked quickly.

"What?" He asked, turning to look at her.

"I asked what did you feel like doing?" Sakura repeated.

He shook his head again. "Sorry. Whatever you really are in the mood for..."

Elsewhere

"... Next on South Park..."

Ino lounged on her couch, her neck draped over one of the arms and her legs draped over Sai's who sat with her, looking at the TV. She sighed and stretched her arms. "I love this show too much..." she yawned. Sai chuckled. She glanced up and considered him.

'Tall... good muscle structure... agile...' she made a mental list as she looked him up and down. "Hey Sai..." she said sweetly.

He looked up at her, confused. "Yeah...?" he asked. "Do you need more diet pepsi or something?" he asked.

She shook her head, smiling slyly at him. "I was just wondering... now that footballs ending what were you planning on doing?" she asked.

He shrugged, leaning back against the couch. "Probably swim team or something. Why?"

"Well..." Ino started, sitting up and scooting more towards him. "Remember how I was talking about the cheer incident at the football game?" she asked. He nodded. "You know, I thought of a solution."

"Really?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! The problem is, it'll take some work to get off the ground."

Sai looked over at her. "What is it?"

"I'm making the squad co-ed!"

He paused before responding. "Ino... isn't it kind of close to your competition to make it co-ed?"

She brightened even further. "I've thought of a solution for that! Y'see, I can tell Sakura had the same thought when I told her. I mean, I know it'll be hard to get any boys interested in _cheerleading_ for gods sake, but... if maybe there was someone who joined to set an example for some of the other guys... well, then the doors would open for any other potential male cheerleaders."

She looked at him excitedly. He still looked confused. "How would you get someone for an example?"

Ino laughed. "Cheerleading is a good alternative to swimming to stay fit you know," she said, grinning at him.

"You want me to join the cheerleading team...?" Sai asked.

"I know it's a huge commitment but for now the co-ed team would be comp season only and..." she said, speaking quickly. "It would really give the team the skill we need to qualify for nationals. You'd be part of Konoha High Cheer making history! You're the kind of guy we need to join to make it seem less like social suicide for the other guys. And," she finished, "it would be a great way for us to spend more time together," she said, smiling cheekily.

Sai sat there, staring at her. "Cheerleading? I know nothing about cheerleading. I don't know anything about those mid-air flips or anything."

She shook her head. "You'd be a base or spotter, not a flyer. They're just as important, but you're the ones on the ground holding up and catching the flyer. And I'd give you a crash course in tumbling," she said, before wincing slightly at her less then great choice of words.

He still looked unconvinced. "Come on, give it a shot. You did the same for football and track," Ino said, smiling encouragingly.

He considered what she said for a minute. The South Park theme started and played through as he sat motionless, Ino's eyes glued on his face. The episode had already started when he chuckled. "Sure," he said. "It'd be interesting."

She pumped her fist. "Awesome!" she said, launching herself forwards to kiss him.

The Next Day

Tenten looked at Ino as Ino sat on her desk, obscuring Tenten's vision with her brand-new H&M retro zipper dress. "Come on Tenten, you're such a great friend... do this for me?" Ino asked, making a cute face. Tenten stared up at her, her mouth open.

"You want me to... base for you?" she asked, not sure what exactly Ino had said.

"Yeah! I'm getting guys but really, I'm not sure we'll have enough for all the stunts, and having a girl like you on the team would be great!" Ino said.

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "'Like me?'" she repeated.

Ino nodded, smirking. "Strong, actual muscle-tone, more endurance then a lot of the guys on the team. You'd be a killer base; I've seen you bench press in the weight room. And, it'd only be until nationals. Then you can go back to soccer or whatever," Ino said, making a face.

Tenten sighed. "What are the chances you'll stop bugging me about it unless I agree?" she asked.

"Slim."

"Fine," Tenten said, groaning. "Me... a cheerleader..." she mumbled, slumping over.

Ino laughed. "It'll be awesome! You'll look bitchin' in a miniskirt," she said, sliding off Tenten's desk with a cackle and flouncing over to her own. Tenten blew out a breath of air as Kiba, her Bio partner, walked over.

"What's with the long face?" he asked, sliding into his seat and lounging back.

Tenten shook her head. "I just got talked into hoisting up a bunch of girls while wearing a minidress," she grumbled. "This is going to ruin my rep on the soccer team."

Kiba let out a loud bark of laughter. "You're cheerleading?" he asked, snorting. "Now ain't that a picture."

She elbowed him in the ribs. "Oh stuff it. I can still kick your ass," she grouched.

"I'd like to see you try," Kiba said, rubbing his side where she had hit him.

"Any time Inuzuka."

A Day or Two Later

Ino sat on a chair in the gym, her hands folded on the table in front of her. She was clad in her cheerleading uniform and crossed her legs, sitting up straight and looking more then a little intimidating. She was flanked by four of her other cheerleaders. Echiko Taniguchi, a girl who had cheered with Ino in her last year of middle school, sat to her immediate left and was grinning widely, as she almost always did. She didn't take much seriously and was more likely to laugh then grimace, but she had a mean streak to rival Karin's. Min-Yee Jun sat on the end of the table next to Echiko. She bobbed her foot up and down as she waited, her restlessness almost trademark; Min-Yee was one of the best flyers on the team because she was full of physical energy and was willing to try almost any stunt. Niranjana Archita-Madhu Singh sat to Ino's direct right and was stretching her arms over her head, trying to work out the soreness. Niranjana was a fitness nut and one of the strongest girls on the team, making her an excellent bases, possibly the only really good one currently on the team. Next to Niranjana sat Atsuko Amori, a sophomore who showed good flyer potential and who, despite her somewhat standoffish expressions, was actually very helpful and cheerful.

Ino brushed her hair back over her shoulder. "Alright, so I'm not sure how many people we're even going to get, but we don't need many guys. I've got another base recruited, though she's only good for competition season. If we can get just a couple good bases and spotters by the end of the day, it'll be an achievement." Ino grinned as the door to the gym opened and nodded towards it.

"Here we go."


	36. She'll Listen

**Konoha High Chapter 36**

Hinata fiddled with the model in front of her as she slowly dissected it. She hunched over, keeping her face close so she could see the details of it. It was a model of part of the propulsion systems of the old US Space Shuttle that she was examining to try and recreate. The previous year for extra science credit she had worked on remaking part of the shuttle miniaturized and she had liked it so much she decided to try and remake the entire thing. She worked on it when she was stressed, when she had enough of homework, or when she was bored. She picked off a small part made of metal and began to examine it.

The door banged open downstairs. "HINATA!" Hanabi screeched. "Someone's heeerreeeeee."

Hanabi went thundering into the living room as Hinata recovered from her surprise. She put the part aside and stood up, stumbling over her robe and opening the door to poke her head into the hall. "W-who is it?" Hinata called.

"You guys are very loud," Neji grouched, walking down the hall, carrying a bag of karate gear.

"Hey Hinata," Tenten said, cresting the top of the stairs, "Hanabi said Neji was out so I-" she cut off abruptly as she saw who was standing with Hinata and turned an unfortunate shade of pink. "Oh... sorry..." she said, looking around awkwardly. She was wearing a sports bra, overly-stretched out tank top, and a pair of running shorts. Right now she felt like she was dressed in a paper bag.

She and Neji stood awkwardly in the hall for a moment as Hinata looked between them. Finally Neji coughed and they both walked quickly past one another, Tenten towards Hinata and Neji towards the stairs. Tenten walked straight into Hinata's room and Hinata turned to follow, hearing the front door slam shut downstairs. Tenten leaned against Hinata's desk, her cheeks still flushed, though Hinata wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or exercise.

"So, uh, you're still working on your space shuttle model?" Tenten asked, looking back at it awkwardly.

"Yeah…" Hinata said, standing up to gather up the model and put it back in the box she kept it in to keep it safe and organized. "So, what's up Tenten?"

Tenten fiddled with the hem of her tank top. "I heard from Naruto you were kind of depressed recently so I decided to stage an anti-depression intervention. It even rhymes," Tenten said, brightening a little. "So, come on, we're going to the movies!"

Hinata blinked, before breaking into a smile. "A-anti-depression intervention?" she asked. "Thanks T-Tenten. I'm n-not that depressed t-though."

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Whatever. We're still going. I want those little mini ice cream bite things and Magic Mike is still at the really cheap theater. So, onwards! To the male stripper movie!" Tenten exclaimed, grabbing Hinata's arm and pulling her towards the door.

"L-let me get my coat."

Elsewhere

"Okay girls! I've got good news," Ino said with a grin, turning down the music blasting out of the radio. The cheerleading team turned their attention to her, eager expressions on their faces. Ino bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, her ponytail flopping side to side. "So… as you guys may know, we had tryouts earlier today for boys to make the squad co-ed and we had better turnout than expected. As of now, we have five new bases and two new spotters, a significant number more then were predicted. I'm proud to present the new members of our co-ed team!" Ino said, gesturing to the gym door. "You can come in now!" she called.

Sai and Tenten were at the head of the group walking in. Tenten had an uncomfortable expression on her face, contrasting Sai's mild smile that he normally wore. Behind them were five other guys: two members of the schools karate team, that Tenten was also a member of, two members of the JV soccer team, and Sasuke Uchiha. The cheerleaders watched them enter with wide eyes, surprised that Sasuke even knew how to do a cartwheel, let alone cheerlead.

Actually, Sasuke didn't know how to cartwheel, but he had a stable stance and was much better than some of the others who tried out. At least he was serious about doing it.

"So," Ino started, clasping her hands behind her back. "Today is going to be back to basics. We're going to get the new peeps introduced to basing and spotting and practice some tumbling. Patience and good technique are today's key words." Ino crossed her arms. "Coach should be here in a sec, and then we'll introduce the flyers to their new bases. Niranjana has elected to stay a base, so Min-Yee, don't worry. You still have your base partner." Min-Yee grinned at Niranjana. The duo was the golden pair of the squad. The most experienced base with the best flyer. They had been a team since the second year of middle school and had gone from hapless to spectacular.

The double doors to the gym swung open again and the coach walked in. "Alright ladies and gentlemen! Time to get to work," the coach announced. "You've given them a briefing, Ino?"

Ino nodded. "Yup. We're ready to get to work!"

"Good, good…" coach said, motioning for the new recruits to take a seat on the bleachers with the other team. Ino stood off to the side as the coach surveyed the new members quietly. "Regional's are four weeks away. We've got a new batch of members, all athletic and ready to work. However, there is still a long way to go. It's going to be hard. Very hard. But I know you can do it. And you need to know it too. This week is going to be all about the basics, which means I expect all of you to do extra workouts on your own to improve your fitness. I recommend long runs, fartleks and stair sprints, weight lifting, and core workouts. You need those abs for good posture. Now, let's have the free flyers over on the right side of me, and the new bases on the left side of me. Niranjana, Min-Yee, the spotters, and the tumblers stay on the bleachers."

The team had five extra flyers: Atsuko, Nia, Masaki, Maybe, and Ino. They lined up, looking eagerly at the new people. Nia was short and compact, with flawless dark skin and black hair she liked to tint with henna. A sophomore, she had been cheerleading for a couple years and loved it. Masaki was a senior and since the fall of her junior year had been consumed with college worries. She could often be found before and after practice doing homework or feverishly filling out college applications while stretching out, her shocking orange, bleached hair up in a topknot.

Maybe's sprain had turned out to be a twist, which she, thank god, bounced back from with amazing speed. She was a freshman who insisted on ironing her hair stick straight every day, much to the horror of her teammates, who thought her corkscrew curls were adorable. Finally, there was Ino.

Sai, Sasuke, one of the karate team members, and the JV soccer boys lined up on the other side, looking a little confused about what was happening. "I've matched up bases and flyers to the best of my abilities. I may move around bases as I get a better idea at what you're capable of, but the pairs will be set for sure at the end of the week. For now, Atsuko, you go with Sasuke, Nia, you and Alonzo… Ino, you and Ryuu," coach said, naming the JV and karate team member respectively. "Masaki… and Sai. And finally, Maybe and Keigo. Again, these are subject to change."

The coach nodded. "Pair up and I'm going to brief you guys on the plan for today." Ino strode over to Ryuu and smiled.

"You're Tenten's friend, right?" Ryuu asked.

Ino nodded. "Yup!"

Ryuu chuckled. "She got me to try out. She said if she had to suffer, another of the karate team should so she'd have someone to whine with," he said.

Ino snorted. "She would say that…"

Sai smiled at Masaki, who stoically nodded. Nia was shaking Alonzo's hand. Atsuko looked over Sasuke with a skeptical look on her face. Keigo was listening shyly as Maybe introduced herself.

"Today: trust activities, the basics of basing, a quick rundown of common stunts, and then practicing some easy stunts. Ino will get you through the trust activities and then I'll be here to help with the practicalities." The coach turned to look at the people clustered on the bleachers. "Now… spotters. I have a big bunch of information for you, and a lecture I'd only like to do once. We'll get to that in a sec. Tumblers, basically today shouldn't be too much different than normal for you, except that I won't be able to give you one on one as much as I normally can. Cerie, you're the lucky girl today. I want you to put together a workout plan for practicing tumbling. Then go through the routines we've been doing. After that, 12 times around the track and calisthenics. You guys can have some fun with that last one."

Coach was almost finished. "Finally, Niranjana, Min-Yee. I have a great workout for you on the whiteboard. Run through it. If you're done before I come to get you, do some abs. Then you get to come up and demonstrate stunts for the newbies. Get to it." The Niranjana and Min-Yee left for the weight room to check their workout and the tumblers went over to the far side of the room. The spotters stayed on the bleachers. Coach turned back to the group of flyers, checking her clipboard quickly. "I'll leave these guys in your capable hands Ino," Coach said, passing her the clipboard. "Come get me when you guys are ready for the demonstrations."

Elsewhere

Neji's hands were shoved in his pockets as he slowly walked down the sidewalk, his karate bag over one shoulder and his gaze held firmly on the ground. His heart felt heavy, not unlike the bag of gear he was carrying. The company… the company… the company… Neji had no brain for business. No love for it. And absolutely no wish to be stuck in a desolate job for the rest of his life.

His uncle was not a nice person. He did not care much for other people. And he always kept one foot planted firmly on the back of Neji's family, reminding them often of the kindness that he was displaying, letting Neji live with him and his family in Konoha. The goodness of his heart, and all that. Neji bristled, just thinking about it.

He kicked a rock out of his path angrily, sending it flying down the sidewalk, where it bounced off of a woman's shoes.

Temari felt something bounce off of her flats. "Hmm?" she asked, looking up curiously. She had her camera bag with her, and she held a notebook in her hands, a pencil behind one ear. "Oh… Neji…" Temari said, looking awkwardly to one side.

"Sorry!" Neji said, embarrassed. "I didn't notice there was anyone there…"

Temari shook her head. "No problem."

Neji started to walk past her, staring back at the ground. "Neji? Do you mind if I ask… why is there an expression of abject misery on your face?" Temari asked, raising an eyebrow. Her sarcastic tone masked actual worry. Neji had not been looking good lately. Normally he was quiet, but not like this.

Neji paused. "I've… been having some family trouble," he said, hesitating.

Temari frowned slightly. "Family trouble?"

"Yeah…" Neji said, looking up at her, the huge bags under his eyes standing out under the mid-afternoon sun. Temari looked a little alarmed.

She stepped towards him and grabbed his wrist. "Come on. We're going to a café where you are going to tell me about it."

"What?" he asked, surprised, as she began pulling him towards the coffee shop a block away.

"You look like hell, and sometimes you just need to talk it out. So we'll talk. I'm not one to gossip, so you don't need to worry about me. And you don't need to tell me anything you don't want to. Hey, if you want, we'll even just talk about your favorite flavor of ice cream. But talk, we will," she said.

"I'm not really in the mood, Temari," Neji said.

"And I am very pushy and don't respect boundaries," Temari responded. "If you really don't want to though… you don't have too."

Neji paused. To be honest, a little talking didn't sound too horrible. "Yeah… sure… let's talk," he said quietly.

Temari led him into the shop, where a tired looking woman was sitting on a stool behind the counter with her eyes glued on the television that was playing Spanish telenovellas. "Hey, can I get a green tea and a… uh, what do you want?" Temari asked, looking at Neji.

"A chamomile tea," Neji said.

The woman behind the counter nodded. "It'll be 4.21. Hang on a sec," she said, getting up and grabbing two cups. The woman plopped in two tea bags and filled them with boiling water, before putting the lids on and carried them over to Temari and Neji. "Give 'em three minutes or so and they'll be good," she said, taking the money Temari handed her. "79 cents is your change," the cashier said, handing her a handful of quarters and pennies as she sat down, looking back at the TV.

Temari grabbed them, holding two napkins around them so she wouldn't burn herself, and carried them over to table. "Okay, talk," Temari said, cradling the tea.

Neji leaned back in his chair, his normally impeccable posture falling to the wayside in his exhaustion. "My uncle is an asshole who wants to control my life," he said simply. "It's not as bad as it sounds probably."

Temari frowned. "'Not as bad as it sounds'?" Temari echoed. "You don't hold your wishes in very high esteem do you?" she asked. "How is he trying to control your life?"

"He thinks I'm going to run the company for him," Neji sighed. "I absolutely refuse. But he thinks because he's helping my parents out he can dictate what I do. I'm not the only one he does that to. I know he thinks he'd rather have sons than daughters. I guess he thinks I'm going to fill that role."

"He regrets Hinata and Hanabi?" Temari asked, her eyes widening.

"A little… yeah," Neji said, looking over to stare out the window.

Temari took a sip of her tea, hissing slightly as it burned her tongue. "Ow… he sounds horrible," she said, a little lamely.

Neji chuckled. "No shit." he said, sarcasm dripping from his words.

"Shit," Temari said, pursing her lips. "So… what are you going to do about it?" she asked.

"What am I going to do? Like I know," Neji said, looking down at his hands as he fiddled with the paper cup his tea was in. "That's my problem. I don't know. I have no idea what to do. Or what I even can do."

"Do you feel like you've lost to him?" Temari asked, breathing in the smell of her tea.

Neji sighed. "To be honest… a little," he said quietly.

Temari looked up at him sharply. "Then you already have," she said.

He looked up at her, surprised. "What?"

"If you think you've lost, you have. If you think you can't do better, you can't. Don't think you've lost, Neji. You haven't, but you can't do jack about anything if you don't believe it too," Temari said, leaning forwards towards him.

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Neji asked, his voice falsely light.

The corners of Temari's mouth turned upwards. "You're a karate regional competitor right?" she asked. "Didn't they tell you something similar when you fight?" Temari tested the temperature of her tea by taking a careful sip, glad to find that it had cooled slightly. "Giving up isn't an option. You and I both know that."


	37. More Surprises

**I do not own Naruto**

"_Trust is essential in the base-flyer relationship. Without it, you can never truly be a good cheerleader. You must remember this. Flyers must trust their bases to catch them no matter what, and bases must trust that their flyer trusts them enough to let them do their job. Period."_

Sasuke's feet pounded hard against the ground as he went running down the dirt path. He was right behind Ino, and he kept his gaze glued onto her blonde ponytail. The cheerleaders were running in a line down the path, more at a jog than a true run. His breath still was coming out hard though, from the four miles they had already knocked out. One more mile and they would be done. Just one little mile.

Ino stayed on her toes as she ran, careful not to slam her heels into the ground. She could hear Sasuke breathing hard behind her as she led the team through a five mile run. "Keep it up," she managed to shout out. "Only one more mile!"

Sasuke was a little grateful for the run, which would help spread the lactic acid in his muscles out. He had hoisted up Atsuko so many times he had lost count. Sasuke liked to think he kept in shape, but lifting Atsuko for an hour was like trying to hold a one hundred pound weigh over head for as long as possible. His arms were what was the most sore, but the squats routine Ino had led them through had made his legs burn intensely.

However, Sasuke was a little surprised to realize that he actually really liked cheerleading. He had tried it because he thought it would be interesting. He didn't think he'd like it this much though. He wilted slightly. He'd finally found something he really wanted to throw himself into, and it was cheerleading?

He knew if he voiced that thought to Ino she'd smack him. Ino hated people who didn't take cheerleading seriously. She viewed it as condescending, which it really was.

'I'm a cheerleader,' he thought, mentally sighing. 'I can't wait to tell Sakura.'

Later

Sakura set down the sweet bun she had bought in front of the statue she was kneeling before. She was visiting the small neighborhood shrine she lived down the street from, and had brought an offering, like she did every weekend. Sakura always brought a dessert, often a sweet bun or pastry, thinking the spirits would like a treat every once and a while.

She bowed her head, before standing and heading for the door. The shrine was situated up the hill, up a long set of stairs and surrounded by trees. Sakura lived in one of the greener areas in town, which meant the shrines there were very picturesque. She walked down the stairs carefully, making sure not to slip. It had rained recently and everything was much more slippery, making her a little nervous. She held tightly to her bag as she descended, breathing a small sigh of relief as she reached the bottom.

She set off down the road, heading to one of the parks that sat halfway between her house and the high school. Sasuke wanted to meet her there, so in addition to buying a sweet bun for herself and one for the shrine, she had gotten another for him. "Mmm… sweet buns," she smiled, sighing. She checked the time, before starting to speed up. She was running a little late.

She saw the park ahead and sped into it, before slowing, looking around for Sasuke. "Hey, Sakura."

She turned around and saw Sasuke sitting on one of the benches. She grinned. "Hi!" she said, running over. "How are you?"

"Exhausted," he said, leaning back.

She sat down next to him. "Why are you exhausted?" she asked, setting her bag on her lap.

He glanced sideways at her. "I joined the cheerleading squad," he said, smiling slightly.

Sakura's mouth popped open. "You did?!" she exclaimed.

He nodded. "Wow! That's amazing! I didn't know you wanted to cheerlead!" she said, grinning. "That's really awesome. Ino must be happy."

"I sure hope so. She just kicked my ass in the workout," he said, rubbing one of his legs. Sakura chuckled.

"Well, I've got food if you want some," she said, reaching into her bag to draw out the paper bag that held the buns. She passed him one, biting into her own.

"Perfect," he said, taking a huge bite. "I'm starving."

"I'll bet. The cheerleader's workouts look really hard," she said, chewing. "I heard Tenten's doing it too."

He nodded. "Yeah, she's spotting. She's really good. She caught one of the flyers and didn't even stumble."

Sakura grinned. "I'm jealous. Tenten's amazingly strong. I think she's even stronger than Neji."

Sasuke took another bite. "Neji's been looking pretty bad recently," he remarked.

Sakura pursed her lips. "Yeah, I noticed. I wonder what's wrong…" Sakura trailed off as her phone started ringing. "Hang on, it's my mom," she said, picking it up. "Mama, what is it," she asked, holding her phone in one hand and her bun in the other.

"_Sakura? I need you at home, now. I've got some news you need to hear."_

"I'm with Sasuke right now," Sakura objected.

"_Right now Sakura. I'm sorry, but it can't really wait."_

She sighed. "Alright. I'll be there in a bit. Bye," she said, hanging up. She looked over at Sasuke. "Sorry, I need to get home. My mom sounds a little agitated," she said, her expression worried.

"I'll drive you," he said, standing and taking another bite.

Sakura slipped her phone into her pocket as she stood, before they both set off outside the park to his car. "I wonder what she needed that couldn't wait," Sakura said as they drove up to her house. They passed the shrine and were in front of her house in under a minute.

"I hope everything's okay," Sasuke said as he idled outside her yard.

Sakura gave him a quick kiss. "I'm sure it's fine," she said, collecting her things. "I'll call you about it later," she said, closing the car door and heading up to her front door. She turned to wave at him before she walked inside, kicking her shoes off on the way to the kitchen. "Mom?" she called out, slipping her bag off her shoulder as she walked in.

Both of her parents were in the kitchen, looking very serious. Sakura stopped, frowning slightly. "What is it? Is everything okay?" she asked.

"We have news…" her mother started.

"Big news," her dad added.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I got an assignment at work, a big one," her mother said.

"Really? That's great," Sakura said. "What kind of assignment?"

"That's the thing sweetie," her father said.

"It's six months long and… it's in London," her mother said.

Sakura's eyes widened. "London?" she echoed.

Her mother nodded. "London," she confirmed. "It starts in a few weeks. It's very urgent. Normally I would know months in advance. But, that means that you're going to have to transfer schools."

"Wait, what?!" Sakura asked, her bag slipping off her shoulder onto the ground. "I'm moving with you?" she exclaimed.

"Did you think you wouldn't?" Her father asked, surprised. "Your mother and I are going, which means you have to also. We're very sorry to have to move you in the middle of your junior year, but-"

"No," Sakura interrupted. "No. No. No. I am not leaving Konoha. I'm not leaving my friends and my school. I can't."

Her mother frowned slightly. "Sakura, I need to take this job. You can't live here by yourself. I'm sorry, but this is what is happening."

Sakura's face started to turn red. "I cannot believe this!" she exclaimed. "This is my life too. Konoha is my home!"

"We have to make sacrifices, Sakura! This is not under discussion!" her mother responded.

"Oh yeah?" Sakura asked, breathing hard. "Well I refuse. I refuse to move!"

"Refuse or not, it's what's happening. This is what's happening," her father said.

"No way in hell!"

Elsewhere

Temari and Neji were walking out of the shop, Neji looking considerably more relaxed. "So what are you going to do now?" Temari asked.

"Well, right now I'm going to go to my dojo. And later, I'm not going to do anything. But the next time uncle brings it up, he's in for a big surprise. No matter what he says, it's not going to change the fact that he's not the one making my decisions for me," Neji said, shouldering his duffle.

Temari smiled. "That's brave to say," she said. "Good job."

Neji stopped as they got onto the sidewalk. "Thanks for listening," he said, smiling slightly.

"No problem," Temari said. "Though, probably best if I don't mention this to Tenten," Temari said.

Neji sighed. "Yeah. Probably best if you don't," he said. 'Tenten…' he thought. The fact that Tenten probably could have helped him through this too hadn't escaped him, but it had been very obvious that Tenten was very uncomfortable around him now. They hadn't spoken in weeks, though this was partially because Neji had barely talked to anyone.

He missed her a lot. He didn't know if she missed him though. Tenten was stubborn, very stubborn. Neji was stubborn too. He wasn't going to apologize, and he knew Tenten wouldn't either. Thus, they were at an unspoken impasse.

Temari chuckled. "You should probably talk to Tenten eventually you know," she said, turning to go.

"Yeah, I probably should," he said. Temari snorted and started off down the streets.

"See yah," she called over her shoulder. Neji turned, heading back the way he had originally been going. He walked a little taller now, and his heart felt much, much lighter, with just one little thought stuck in the back of his mind.

Elsewhere

Tenten had gone straight to the first cheerleading practice after the movie. The coach's lecture on the importance of spotting had not been wasted on her, and it had been running through her head the entire practice. Especially when one of the new bases got unbalanced and Tenten had to catch the flyer. The flyers were extremely light, and Tenten didn't have any trouble catching her. Ino had even fist pumped. "I am so glad you're spotting Tenten!" she had said.

Tenten was getting ready to leave practice when Ino stopped her. "Hang on Tenten, we need to get your sizing for your uniform," Ino said.

"Uniform? Great," Tenten said, slumping after Ino.

"Don't be a whiner," Ino said, grabbing the clipboard with the size chart on it. "Just check the sizes next to each box.

Tenten took the clipboard and scanned it. There were separate boxes for the sizes of the tops and bottoms of the mini dress. Medium top, medium bottom, she checked. There was a list of additional required uniform items under the chart. "White sneakers… hair ribbon… spandex undershorts… white socks…" she muttered. "Great, I get to buy more clothes," she said, handing the clipboard back to Ino.

Ino chuckled. "It's not so bad. Everyone looks really great once we're all in uniform. You just wait."

"Oh yeah, I can't wait to work out in a mini dress. It's kind of different then running around in a soccer shirt and shorts," Tenten pointed out.

"Different, but it doesn't have to be worse," Ino said. "Just think of it as a challenge. And it's only for a couple months. You'll be rolling in the mud in no time."

Tenten snorted. "Whatevs," she said.

"Oh, wait!" Ino called.

Tenten turned around again. "What?" she asked.

Ino went bounding over. "My holiday party. It's next Friday. Last day of finals. It'll be bumpin'," she said excitedly.

Tenten grinned. "Sounds awesome. Oh, are you coming to Temari's tonight?" she asked.

"Hell yeah!" Ino said. "But I've got to get these size orders in. We have to rush order the new uniforms," she said, making a face. "See you at six."

Tenten walked into the locker room and showered off quickly, enjoying the feeling of soap and shampoo. When she was done she dried and dressed, braiding her hair quickly to give it waves, and grabbed her bag, heading out the door.

She braced herself against the winter chill, burrowing into her winter coat. She started walking to her house. She had homework to get done before she could head over to Temari's. She saw some cars in the school parking lot as she walked past, probably the basketball or wrestling teams. Tenten wished for a moment that she had waited to shower at home, her wet hair chilling her under her thick clothes.

Her teeth chattered and she squinted into the wind. "This blows," she muttered. She teared up slightly as the wind hit her straight on in the face.

"What are you doing out there?"

Tenten looked over, her face flushed an unattractive red, tears streaming down her face from the cold. Kankuro had pulled up next to her, leaning out of his window into the cold. He was also braced against the cold, squinting as much as she was.

"W-w-w-walking h-home," she said, her teeth clattering together. "I-it's much c-colder than it was w-w-when I was r-running earlier t-t-today. It's w-weird."

"Want a ride?" Kankuro asked, starting to shiver.

Tenten nodded. "Y-y-y-yes!" she exclaimed. She climbed into the car, slamming the door quickly as Kankuro rolled up the window. Tenten turned the vents spewing hot air towards her, letting it warm her face. "Thank you so much," she sighed. "It's so cold. I don't know how it came on so sudden. It's like a sudden plot device written by someone too lazy to explain it with science."

"Yeah," Kankuro said. "Where do you live?" he asked.

"Off of 12th Ave, down 7th street," she said. Kankuro nodded, turning onto 12th.

"So, how's your little plot to get back at Neji going?" Kankuro asked.

Tenten looked over at him sharply, narrowing her eyes. "Figured that out did you?" she snapped. He snorted, nodding.

"Neji did too," he said.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I dropped that a while ago. Now I'm just trying to avoid him. Not that I've had to worry about that a lot lately. He's been really… reclusive. More than usual," she said, biting her lip. She would hate to admit it, but she'd been pretty worried about him lately.

Kankuro shrugged. "He never talks to me anyways. Unless it's to punch me in the face."

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "When has he been punching you in the face?" she asked.

"It was just once. A couple days after the Halloween party. He wasn't too happy about you and me "being together"," he said, quoting with his fingers on the steering wheel. "I wish he had left me and my face out of it though. It was all your and Temari's idea."

Tenten blinked. "That… bothered him that much?" she asked, flushing slightly.

"Yeah."

Tenten settled back into the seat, her brow furrowed. That was interesting. From his attitude, it seemed like since they had broken up he hadn't given her a second thought. She chewed on her lower lip, staring out of the window.

Kankuro turned onto 7th street. "My house is right there," Tenten said, pointing at it. He slowed to a stop in front of it so she could get out.

"Sorry about your face," she said sheepishly, climbing out.

"Thanks."


	38. Bad News

**I do not own Naruto**

Hinata was pulling a wool sweater on over her head. It had very Nordic-styled patterns on it, over a cream base, and was her absolute favorite. It was warm, versatile, and she loved the deer and bird pattern. She smoothed her hair back, checking the bag she was packing. Pajamas, underwear, toothbrush, hairbrush, cleanser and moisturizer, extra wool socks, a pair of jeans for tomorrow, a compact with conscealer, translucent powder and lip gloss, her cell phone… was she missing anything?

She shook her head and zipped it up. She pulled a puffy winter coat on over her sweater and a pair of mittens. It was freezing outside, the wind rattling against the trees and window panes. She pulled a hat on and grabbed her bag, carrying it out into the hall. She felt like a human marshmallow as she went downstairs and pulled her boots on. It wasn't her fault she liked to be warm though. It did suck that the car was gone though, which meant she had to walk to Temari's.

She was about to step outside when the door swung open and Neji came barreling in, his teeth chattering. "It's goddamn %&$# *% cold out there!" he spat, slamming the door shut. He rubbed his arms quickly as he kicked his shoes off, dumping his bag onto the floor. Hinata nodded.

"It d-does look c-cold," she agreed, picking her duffle up and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Are you going somewhere?" Neji asked, shivering. Hinata nodded.

"Y-yes," she said. "I'm g-going to Temari's for the n-n-night."

Neji nodded. "I ran into Temari on the way to the dojo," he remarked, starting up the stairs. "Have fun."

"T-t-thank you," Hinata said. "See y-you tomorrow." She pulled open the door and slipped outside. It really was cold, very cold. She started down the road, towards Temari's house. Her hair fluttered behind her in the wind, at least the part that wasn't held down by her hat. She leaned into the wind as she walked, keeping her arms crossed over her chest to keep the warmth in.

Temari's house was about 20 minutes away, and Hinata hurried as quickly as she could bundled up like she was. Finally she turned onto Temari's street, spotting the mansion just a little ways away. She hurried into the yard and up to the door, ringing the bell with one mitten-ed hand.

She heard thumping inside and Temari flung the door open. "Come in!" she said, pulling Hinata into the house and slamming the door behind her. "Did you walk here? Jesus Hinata!" Temari exclaimed as Hinata peeled off her outerwear.

"Y-yeah… it wasn't so b-bad though. I k-kept moving," Hinata said, draping her coat over the back of her chair, along with her hat and mittens. She followed Temari upstairs, the house much quieter than normal. "W-where's your f-family?" Hinata asked curiously, pulling her duffle behind her, her socked feet padding on the carpet.

"Gaara and Kankuro are out somewhere and dad's gone on business. Thank god," Temari said, chuckling. "He's been getting on my nerves so much lately!" she exclaimed. "Anyways, Tenten's already here." Temari pushed her door room open, revealing Tenten flopped over on Temari's bed, snacking on goldfish crackers.

Tenten raised her head, grinning at Hinata. "Heyh Hinatha," she said through a mouthful of cheesy cracker. She swallowed, propping herself up on her elbows. "Did you get home okay after the movie?"

Hinata nodded. "What movie?" Temari asked, bounding over to her bed and jumping on, bouncing slightly as she landed.

"We went to see Magic Mike at the matinee theater," Tenten said with a grin. Temari's mouth popped open.

"Luckyyyy," Temari whined. "I love that movie…" She trailed off, hearing something downstairs. "That's the door again, hang on a sec," she said, jumping up and heading downstairs.

"So… Hinata… how's Neji doing?" Tenten asked casually, popping another cracker into her mouth.

Hinata sat down on the floor, leaning her back against the bed. "I t-think he's a-alright. He's been so d-down lately, but he s-seemed less… m-m-mellow when he got h-home today. Maybe it w-was just the c-cold t-though," Hinata sighed. "I wonder what's b-been wrong… w-why do you a-ask, Tenten?" she asked curiously.

"No reason," Tenten said quickly as Temari came back upstairs, Ino trailing behind her.

"Hey girls!" Ino said, grinning and dumping her bag onto the floor. "Hey Tenten, long time no see," Ino said jokingly.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah…"

"Sore from practice yet?" Ino asked, planting her hands on her hips.

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "Not at all. I'm still in tip top shape from soccer," she remarked.

"Well, we'll see how long that lack of soreness lasts after we have you start tumbling," Ino said. She bent back into a bridge, before kicking over, careful not to hit anything. "It takes some decent stretching and flexibility to even do that," Ino said, swishing her hair over one shoulder. Tenten chuckled.

"I bet," Tenten remarked.

Suddenly they heard the door downstairs bang open and someone yell up the stairs. "Is that Sakura?" Temari asked, looking towards the door.

The four poked their heads out of the door and saw that Sakura was standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking distraught. "Sakura?!" Ino asked, running downstairs to her.

"I'm moving," Sakura said as Ino reached her. Ino stopped dead in her tracks. Hinata, Tenten, and Temari gasped.

"WHAT?!" Ino shrieked, her voice practically high enough to shatter glass.

"I'm moving," Sakura repeated, her face crumpling. "To London. My parents are making me move to London."

Tenten practically leaped down the stairs, Temari and Hinata hot on her tail. "You are joking!" Temari said, grabbing Sakura by the shoulders. "Tell me you're joking!"

Sakura shook her head. "I wish I was," she said. "But I'm not. I'm moving right after Christmas."

"That's o-only two w-weeks a-away," Hinata stuttered, shock on her face. "It's s-so sudden…"

Sakura nodded, misery on her face. "I don't want to go…" she said quietly.

There were practically flames in Ino's eyes. "Of course you don't!" she yelled. "I am going to go give your parent's a piece of my mind!" she said, thundering towards the door.

"Ino!" Sakura exclaimed, grabbing her arm. "Ino! How would that help anything?" Sakura demanded.

Tenten spoke before Ino could. "It would help because it would show them that there's people who need you here too Sakura! You're our friend. You can't just be told that in a couple weeks you have to leave your home!" Tenten nodded. "Yeah, that's what we can say," she said, grabbing the car keys from where they were hanging up on the wall. "Come on."

"I'll drive," Temari said, grabbing her coat out of the closet.

Ino pulled out of Sakura's grip. It was only until the four others were halfway to where Temari's car was parked when Sakura blinked and ran after them. "Wait!" she called.

"You coming?" Temari asked, climbing into the driver's seat of her jeep.

"This is crazy," Sakura protested.

Ino shrugged. "Nobody ever said I wasn't a little crazy. Do you want to come or not?"

Sakura hesitated, before climbing into the backseat. "Fine," she said. She felt grateful, really, for having friends so ready to defend her. Even if it was against something they couldn't do anything about. Even if, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't the biggest deal in the world.

Temari backed her car out, before stepping on it. They went speeding down the street. "S-slow down, Temari!" Hinata said as they screeched around the corner.

"Sorry," Temari said, slowing down a little. Temari was already a fan of driving fast, and the tension right now made her want to go even faster.

Thankfully not fast enough that she was able to stop before hitting a squirrel sprinting for its hideout. "Jeez!" she said, slamming on the horn to scare it. "Stupid squirrel," she muttered, speeding up again.

They pulled in front of Sakura's house in record speed. "Maybe you should not all come in," Sakura suggested as they started to climb out.

Tenten shook her head as the group headed up the steps to Sakura's porch. Ino rung the doorbell as the four stopped in front of the front door, staring straight at the window in the door. Sakura fluttered near the back of the group. "What are you guys even going to do?" she asked, hearing footsteps in the house.

Sakura's mom looked through the window and froze. "What the hell?" she asked, opening the door. "I mean… uh, heck. What are you all doing here?" she asked, her brows raised.

Ino crossed her arms. "Mrs. Haruno, you can't just make Sakura move with you!" she exclaimed.

"Right to the point, aren't you?" Sakura muttered.

Sakura's mother looked taken aback, before frowning. "Did Sakura put you up to this?" she asked.

That caught Ino off guard. "W-what?" she asked.

"Sakura, come inside. We have to talk," her mother said. Sakura winced as she walked inside. "I'm sorry, but you all need to leave now," her mother said, closing the door.

Ino stared at it in shocked silence.

Beat

Beat

Beat

"Oh you have GOT to be kidding me!" Temari said. She rung the bell. Nothing. She rung it again. Nothing. "Sakura!" she called.

Suddenly they heard footsteps. Sakura's face peered through the window. "Go away! I'm sorry, but go away!" she hissed, before running back from the door.

The four stood frozen outside the door for a moment, before Ino whirled around and went rushing back to the jeep. "Come on," she growled.

"Ino!" Tenten exclaimed, running after her. Temari frowned slightly, before falling with Hinata her shadow.

Ino climbed into the car, slamming the door. The other three also piled in and Temari started it up. "What do you want to do?" Temari asked Ino as they pulled away from the house.

"I want to eat my feelings," Ino said, sinking into her seat.

"Gotcha."

Elsewhere

"I still can't believe you joined the cheerleading team."

Naruto was lying back on his bed, tossing a baseball back and forth between his hands. "I never knew you were even aware we had a cheerleading squad," Naruto said, chuckling to himself.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He was sitting on Naruto's desk chair, leaning back slightly. "Whatever. It's harder then I had expected it to be," he remarked thoughtfully.

"Dude, have you seen those flippy things they do?" Naruto asked, sitting up. "I don't know how people can physically accomplish that. Why do you think I've been scared of Ino for the past like, six years? Because I'm pretty sure you have to make some sort of deal with the devil to flip around like that," Naruto said, sounding very matter-a-fact.

"You are a moron," Sasuke muttered.

Suddenly his cell phone went off. Naruto flopped backwards as Sasuke answered it. "Hello? Sakura?" he asked, recognizing her number on the caller I.D.

"_Hey Sasuke," _Sakura said, sounding very melancholy. _"I've kind of got something to tell you. It's kind of a big deal."_

Sasuke frowned slightly. "What is it? Are you alright?"

"_I'm sorry but…"_ Sakura said, trailing off. _"But, I'm moving away! After Christmas."_

Sasuke's eyes widened. "What?!" he asked.

Naruto sat up, looking confused. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Sasuke ignored him. "Why? Where are you moving too? Why so suddenly?" he demanded.

"_My… mother's job… she got a sudden offer. In London. It's a rush assignment and my dad found work there too, so we're leaving right after Christmas." _Sakura's voice caught a little. _"I'm sorry to tell you so suddenly. I'll miss you. I've got to go."_

"Wait! Sakura!"

Sakura quickly hung up and Sasuke just sat there, still holding the phone up to his ear.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked again, staring at Sasuke.

Sasuke snapped the cell phone shut. "Sakura just told me she's moving to London," he said, his face blank.

Naruto blinked. "Did you say London?" he asked, sounding shocked.

"Yeah… London."


	39. What Is That?

**I do not own Naruto**

Temari ran her hands over her stomach as she walked down the lakefront. Last night she had ate a lot of really bad food and her body was punishing her for it. She huffed slightly, making a face as her stomach shifted uncomfortably. Junk food Saturday night at Ino's, junk food last night… nausea today at school. She had decided to drive down to the lake to try and get inspired for her spread, which was coming dangerously close to being due. That thought made her feel even more nauseous. So much was riding on this competition and just her luck: she had gotten  
"photographer's block".

She wrapped her coat around herself a little tighter as she walked, her breath coming out in little white puffs. She exhaled quickly three times and watched the puffs float away on the breeze. Suddenly she heard something coming towards her. Was that… singing? She looked around. No, it sounded like a bunch of people chanting a song. What the hell?

She turned around and saw a line of girls thundering down the path, all singing at the top of their lungs.

_Oh, I don't know but I've been told_

_ I don't know but I've been told_

_ Konoha Crew Team gets the gold_

_ Konoha Crew Team gets the gold!_

_ In eights, fours, quads, and doubles_

_ Eights, fours, quads, and doubles_

_ You'll find it's useless to try and struggle_

_ Find it's useless to try and struggle!_

_ Moving the shell with all our might_

_ Moving the shell with all our might_

_ We work all day and through the night_

_ We work all day and through the night!_

Temari stepped to the side to let them pass. 'What the hell is a crew team?' she thought. 'Some sort of sport?' She shrugged to herself and continued down the path as the girls went storming up ahead of her.

What to do for her entry? She wanted something original. Something that other people wouldn't be submitting. Something original and not done to death. She sighed, fiddling with her camera strap. She had some cool ideas, but she didn't have the ability to replicate them. Besides, most of them weren't the types of things that would showcase her photography abilities. More like showcasing whatever it was she was photographing. No, she'd need something that would demonstrate her skills.

She reached into her pocket, rustling around in it as she walked until she produced a piece of peppermint gum that she popped into her mouth to stave off hunger. Her dad was still gone and yet again, it was up to a hapless Temari and her brothers to prepare meals. Last night they had ordered pizza. Tonight she figured that she'd just go out to eat. Maybe teriyaki… she really wanted teriyaki.

She pushed her thought of food back in her mind as she chewed, continuing down the path. She wasn't really sure what idea she thought would strike her there. She was definitely not out to do a nature piece…

A building came into view as she walked, seemingly made out of concrete and wood, kind of shabby but big. She thought it was a house from farther away before she realized it was a boathouse. A boathouse swarming with people for some reason.

'It's way too cold out to boat,' Temari thought. The water must be freezing. Maybe it was one of those Run/Walk events to raise money for charities… at a boathouse? She approached curiously. However as she got closer the people started trickling into the buildings. By the time she reached where they had been, there was no one but a couple people wandering through the area. She glanced over down one of the docks.

Yep. The water looked pretty damn cold. Glassy, but deceptively so. She shivered involuntarily.

Suddenly she heard something clatter behind her. She looked around to see a girl rushing out of one of the building units and up to the water, where she collapsed onto all fours and started vomiting over the edge. Temari's eyes widened and she ran over. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked the girl.

Another girl came up behind Temari and squatted down next to the girl. "I… I'm fine," the girl said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Didja PR?" the squatting girl asked.

"Yeah..." the other girl responded, sitting back on her heels. Temari looked between the two in confusion. "Thanks for the help, but I'm fine," the girl said to Temari, looking shaky.

Temari wasn't very convinced. "Are you sure? You don't look so good…" Temari said.

The girl shook her head. "Seriously, I'm fine. I was just working out, that's all."

"Oh… are you part of that… uh… what was it called… crew team? I saw them running a little while ago," Temari said, standing up.

The squatting girl nodded. "Yeah. Konoha Crew Team… hey, you look kind of familiar. Have I seen you somewhere?" she asked, squinting slightly up at Temari.

Temari shrugged. "Uh… around town?" she asked.

"Maybe… oh wait! You're that transfer student at Konoha High right?" the girl asked, snapping her fingers. Temari nodded. "Yeah, I know your brothers," the girl said, smiling.

"Oh… Gaara and Kankuro? I'm sorry," Temari said, making a face. The girl on the ground giggled.

"Don't apologize. Kankuro's hilarious," she said. Temari blinked.

"We might be thinking of different people…" Temari said, trailing off slightly. Both of the girls on the ground chuckled. The one who had been puking nodded to the other girl and hobbled off towards the buildings.

"So why are you down at the lake? Kind of cold for a walk," the girl said, standing.

"Just… trying to get ideas for my photography project," Temari said. Her face fell slightly. "It's not really working."

The girl wrinkled her nose. "Aw man, I'm sorry. I've got to get back to the erg room, but good luck with your project. Tell Kankuro I said hello," she said, grinning and turning back to the boathouse.

"Huh… Kankuro friends with an actual girl," Temari muttered. Normally girls that Kankuro would try to "befriend" ended up throwing something at him. Like food. Or drinks. Or bus schedules (that was just one time). Temari started up the path away from the docks. She ended up passing one of the buildings the people were walking in and out of and her ears were suddenly filled with the dulcet tones of Wiz Khalifa.

She turned to peer into the building, which was mostly concrete and not very welcoming looking. It was basically just a large room filled with people using some machines she'd seen in the gym before: ergometers. There wasn't a face in there not in pain, except for two rather petite girls walking around checking on the erg screens.

One of the girls suddenly wrenched herself off of the erg and onto the floor, lying on her side, gasping for breath. One of the two girls came over and started writing something down on her clipboard, before helping the girl up so she could lean back against the wall.

Temari continued up the path. 'It looks horrible,' she thought, wrinkling her nose. She sighed, stretching her arms. Back to brainstorming… what to do…

That Night

"W-wait… so why a-are we going to this p-party right before exams start?" Hinata asked, turning to look at Ino. Ino just nodded mutely. Ino hadn't been saying much since Saturday, but she had called up Tenten, Hinata, and Temari that morning before school and told, not asked, them that they were going to big party at Kaya and Bobby Wu's house. Temari had backed out, having to work on her project, so now it was just Tenten, Hinata, and Ino driving up to the house.

Tenten frowned. "Uh… Ino… hello? You there?"

"Oh! Uh, sorry!" Ino said, pulling up in front of the house. "Yeah… it's just a pre-finals fling," Ino said, turning the car off and grabbing her purse. "Come on," she said, climbing out.

Tenten and Hinata followed her out as she locked the car door and walked up to the house. They opened the door and immediately were overwhelmed by the sound of a girl shouting out as she tripped on the stairs, falling into a tangle of people. Hinata stopped, feeling taken aback. Ino spotted someone and ran over to them, leaving Tenten and Hinata by the door. "Do you even know who the Wu's are?" Tenten asked, looking down at Hinata.

Hinata shook her head. "N-no idea…"

They started moving deeper into the house, away from the door. Hinata knew she really should be home studying. Not that she was having trouble with grades, but the more prepared one was the less you would have to worry. But she was feeling bad for Ino. And a little for herself also. Sakura had avoided them all day at school. It was like she was already trying to distance herself from her friends in preparation for having to move.

Hinata drooped at the thought, her head tilting down slightly. Someone bumped into her, and she turned away as a reflex, ending up in the dining room. "Eh? Tenten?" she asked, looking around for her friend, but seeing her nowhere. "T-Tenten…?" Hinata mumbled, getting pushed to the side of the room. Hinata glanced around nervously, before spotting a door and going scooting over to it.

She had found the door leading to the staircase to the second floor. "I-Ino? Tenten?" Hinata called softly, beginning to climb the stairs. It didn't seem like they were around. But she could at least wait out the party in one of the rooms upstairs. She found a spare bedroom, or rather, a spare bedroom that was unoccupied. She shut the door behind her and sighed, leaning against it. "So… bored…" she mumbled to herself. She sat down on the bed and started trying to remember the facts she had been drilling into herself for the biology exam on Thursday.

"Hey, I think in here's empty…"

The door creaked open and Hinata opened her eyes a tiny bit. She had fallen asleep across the bed, and now looked sleepily at the pair of people staring at her. "Oh! I'm sorry!" the girl said, quickly closing the door. Hinata sighed and curled up tighter on her side.

"Is someone in there?"

"Yeah, some girl. Maybe sleeping one off?"

The door open again and Hinata groaned, rolling over on her other side so her back was too the light. She just wanted to sleep… she was so… so… so… tired…

"Hinata!"

Hinata sat up straight. "Present!" she gasped, looking around, her hair sticking to one side of her face. She blinked, looking behind her at the door. Naruto was standing there, staring at her.

"Hinata, I didn't know you were here," he said, walking over to her. Hinata nodded, squinting through the bright light pouring in from the hall. "Oh! Sorry!" Naruto said, quickly closing the door. She relaxed, her eyes no longer filled with the sudden brightness.

"I d-didn't know you were here either N-Naruto," Hinata said, smiling up at him. "I'm g-glad. I haven't f-found anyone I k-know here, except for I-Ino and T-Tenten and they d-d-disappeared off somewhere."

"Oh…" Naruto said. "Well, I just saw Tenten downstairs making out with some guy."

Hinata's eyes widened. "S-she got back t-together with N-Neji-sempai?!" Hinata asked, jumping up. "When did t-that h-happen?"

"Neji?" Naruto asked, shaking his head. "No, it wasn't Neji. She was making out with… uh… one of the seniors. I don't remember his na-"

Hinata ran to the door. "No! She m-must have gotten a-accidentally drunk a-again!" she exclaimed, tearing down the hall and stairs, down to where most of the party was. Hinata looked around wildly for Tenten. She didn't want Tenten to do anything she would regret in her state of inebriation. "T-Tenten?" Hinata called, though her voice was drowned out by the music and chatter.

"Where is she…?"


	40. Absolutely Miserable

**I do not own Naruto**

"Hinata?"

Tenten looked around for Hinata, but couldn't see her anywhere. They must have gotten separated coming into the party. She sighed. Ino ran off and now Hinata had disappeared. Tenten doubted that she would know a single person there.

She pushed her way into the kitchen, elbowing people out of the way. "I really should be home studying," Tenten muttered to herself as she reached the kitchen and leaned against the counter, trying to stay out of the way of the people trickling in and out. It was quieter in here, thankfully so, but the food and drinks were drawing a few people, who came in, grabbed a handful of something, and dashed out again.

Tenten moved to pick at the cheetos, carefully avoiding the bright punch, remembering the last time she drank a little too much "party punch". Tenten sighed and started stuffing cheetos into her mouth. She had felt like everything was slowly falling apart lately, and she'd started eating her feelings and had already gained a couple pounds. She groaned and withdrew her hand from the bowl. She wasn't used to eating so much crap… but it tasted soooo good!

She hesitated, grabbed a couple more cheetos, and popped them in her mouth as she scuttled from the room, determined to put as much space between her and the snacks as possible.

Suddenly something very cold went trickling down her head and a girl gasped. Tenten gasped, tensing and the people around her froze. She reached up and felt her head, ending up with a handful of soaking wet hair. "I am so sorry!" the guy behind her said, holding a cup tightly in one hand, a look of horror on his face. It became obvious to Tenten that he had accidentally dropped the contents of his drink on her head.

"It's… fine… just a mistake," Tenten said, trying to sound gracious but just sounding annoyed.

"Do you need some help? A wet rag? A towel?" he asked, looking around for something frantically.

Tenten just shook her head. "No, I was just leaving anyways," she said, heading for the front door.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Tenten said, nodding to him and walking with as much dignity as she had to the door. She opened it and started down the front path. It wasn't just the drink that had made her leave. She really wasn't in the mood to party. She reached into her pocket and dug her phone out, dialing Ino's number. It rung and rung before going to voicemail. Tenten wasn't surprised; it would take a superwoman to hear a phone ringing in that house. "Hey Ino, it's Tenten. Listen, I ended up just going home, so don't wait up for me or anything. See you and Hinata tomorrow at school!"

She pocketed her phone and walked briskly onto the sidewalk and down the dark streets. She shivered as she walked, the cold air making her hair just a misery. "I hate walking home at night," she murmured.

Tenten turned onto one of the main avenues and speed walked down it, heading towards where her house was. She paused when she reached the intersection, looking back and forth between the turns. Either going straight or turning right would get her home, but both routes looked very dark and rather threatening.

"Why me…" she groaned, turning left. She'd just have to take the long way around.

She padded up the huge hill that the road led up. She started sweating under her winter coat, though her cheeks and nose were still stingingly cold. She rubbed her hands together to warm them, before holding them up to her face to try and keep the heat of her breath against her face.

She instinctively reached up to check and see if her hair was drying yet before feeling crackly, sticky hair. "P-punch…" she gasped. It wasn't just any drink he had spilled on her. It was fruit punch. "Goddammit!" she yelled, forgetting that it was late at night in a neighborhood.

"Tenten…?"

Tenten whirled around. "Hello?" she called.

Neji was peering at her from a little ways away, looking uncomfortable. Tenten grimaced, trying to smooth it into an impassive expression. "Oh… Neji… what are you doing out here so late?" she asked, clasping her hands behind her back.

"Just… walking home. What about you?" he asked.

"Same."

They stood awkwardly on the sidewalk, facing one another and trying not to make eye contact. Tenten stared down at the ground, hoping he would give her a way to leave the conversation. "It's… really late," Neji finally said.

Tenten nodded. "Uh… yeah… I had been out with Ino but decided to leave early… but, I have to get home." She said, turning to go.

"Maybe I should walk you…" Neji said awkwardly.

"Why?" Tenten asked, turning slightly to glare at him. He looked taken aback, before sneering slightly.

"Well, it seems whenever you decide to walk around at dusk that you get in some sort of trouble," he said, his voice annoyed.

Tenten stiffened. "Oh really? I can take care of myself," she said, before marching back up the hill.

She was happy to hear no response and she continued to the top of the hill before turning right. Another dozen or so blocks and she turned left, happy to realize she was nearing home. Suddenly she heard something behind her, and she turned to see Neji following her at a decent distance. She stopped dead. "What are you doing?" she growled as he neared.

"Making sure you get home," he said stubbornly.

"Why?" she asked, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"Because I want to."

She opened her mouth to reply before faltering. It really wasn't worth her breath. "Do what you want. I don't care," she said, beginning to walk again towards her house. She still heard his footsteps behind her as she finally reached her house. She climbed over the gate, not bothering to fumble in the dark for the bolt, and walked straight up the path and through her front door, not looking back.

She leaned against the door, kicking her shoes off and staring moodily at the ground.

"I want a hot shower…"

The Next Morning

Hinata was packing up her lunch. A sandwich… some little tomatoes… some black olives… a couple mandarin oranges… all packed neatly into her bento box. Hinata sighed darkly as she closed the lid, drooping over the counter.

Neji paused by the sink, staring at Hinata as he finished his orange juice. "Hinata…?" he asked, confused. 'What's wrong with her?' he thought. "Hinata, are you alright?" he asked, putting his empty glass in the sink.

Hinata let her head fall forwards. "I'm w-worried about T-Tenten…" she finally muttered.

Neji frowned. "Tenten? Is she alright?"

"I…" Hinata started, before cutting off. She hadn't been able to track down Tenten last night, but Ino had told her that Tenten had already gone home by the time Ino was ready to leave. But making out with random guys? Possibly drinking spiked punch? Next Hinata knew, she'd probably be hooked on some hard drug and in a gang! Hinata let her fist land on the counter. No way! She thought desperately.

Neji watched wordless as this inner, very exaggerated, conversation happened over the course of a few seconds. "Hinata…?" he asked, staring at her.

She looked over at Neji, desperation on her face. "T-Tenten's in a downward s-spiral!" Hinata exclaimed. "W-what if she ends u-up in the Y-Yakuza?! Running a g-gang! It would b-be horrible, and a-all because I didn't d-do anything!" Hinata exclaimed.

Neji blinked. Oh yeah, he had almost forgotten the weird pre-exam jitters Hinata got. She always got very… strange right around exams. He'd better try and just defuse her. "Uh… Hinata… I don't think Tenten's going to join a gang. I saw her last night and she seemed fine," he said.

"N-Naruto said," Hinata started, "That h-he saw Tenten w-with some random g-guy last night. And t-then I couldn't f-find her. I b-bet she's all torn up o-over everything with S-Sakura and y-" Hinata cut off. "Uh… y-you know… e-exams and stress and e-everything," she finished quickly.

"That's her business," Neji said, walking into the living room.

Hinata watched him go. 'Neji's… much less wound up about Tenten than before…' she thought. 'That's good… but it doesn't change the fact that Tenten needs help! And I'm just the one to do it!' She thrust a fist in the air.

'Yes! I will help Tenten!'

At School

Sakura slunk out of the classroom and sped down the hall, glancing around nervously. She had been conspicuously avoiding Sasuke, Ino, Hinata, Tenten, and Temari since that Saturday, especially at school. She had decided to start eating lunch out of the cafeteria. First she just had to get in, grab her food as quickly as possible, and book it outside. It may be freezing, but that didn't change the fact that Sakura didn't have to deal with anyone else out there.

She jogged into the cafeteria, determined to make it in there before the rush. She grabbed a tray and started piling food onto it haphazardly, not caring much about what she was grabbing. She ended up with a bowl of chili, a piece of banana bread, and a bowl of celery. She paid and slipped out the back, walking over to the outside tables. She shivered as she sat and started eating, grateful for the hot chili.

Sakura supposed she was being a little cowardly, avoiding her friends like this. But she absolutely didn't have the emotional capacity to deal with anything right now. She was barely getting by as it was. Her mother was still angry over Saturday and had barely spoken to Sakura since. The fact that this was happening right around exams also wasn't much of a help.

She absentmindedly shredded the banana bread. She barely noticed when the bell rung, but after some hesitation, she decided to just stay outside. It was only reading day, hopefully the teacher wouldn't notice, but she was with Sasuke in that class and she couldn't handle that right now.

She shivered and started nibbling on the strips of bread. 'It's so cold…' she thought, leaning over onto the table top as she chewed. She pushed the tray away from her and laid her head down right on the table, her cheek pressing against the freezing plastic.

"Sakura…"

"Sakura."

"Sakura!"

Sakura looked up and saw Sasuke staring down at her, a frown deeply set on his face. She swallowed. "Sasuke," she acknowledged.

"Sakura."

"I don't want to talk to you, Sasuke."

"Why?"

Sakura shook her head. "I can't handle whatever you want to say right now," she said, shivering slightly.

Sasuke just stared at her mulishly. Sakura looked away, her face blank. "I said I don't want to talk to you," she said.

"I think we need to talk, Sakura," Sasuke said.

"Sasuke… I don't want to talk," Sakura said. She stood, leaving her tray where it was. "Please just go away," she asked.

Sasuke's frown deepened. "You can't punish me because you don't want to work through this, Sakura," he said.

"Sasuke! Just go away!" Sakura said. Instead of waiting to see if he would, she went stomping off towards the parking lot. Screw reading day. She absolutely did not want to be in that school a moment longer, with Sasuke throwing her reproachful looks and Ino stomping around the halls. If she stayed there any longer she thought she would just break down.

She walked past the rows of cars and up to the bus stop. Normally Ino would drive her home… but for obvious reasons, that wasn't the plan today. She sat down in the shelter and buried her head in her folded arms, leaning over onto her knees. She was absolutely miserable. Sakura knew very well that there were much worse things in the world then what she was going through, but that didn't make it sting any less.

Absolutely miserable.


	41. Try Try Again

**I do not own Naruto**

Atsuko fell onto the mat with an "oof!" and Sasuke quickly offered her a hand which she took, pulling herself up with an annoyed expression on her face. Min-Yee came walking over, one eyebrow raised. "Sasuke… are you still having trouble with this?" she asked, propping one hand on her hip.

Atsuko stretched her arms above her head, loosening up her back. "I'll say he's still having trouble," she said ruefully. Atsuko had fallen down to the mat more times then she would like to count today. It wasn't that it hurt, it just built up to a rather intense soreness now. They were working on chair sits and cupies. Really rather basic, but Sasuke's complete newness to cheerleading was showing painfully. So far he and Atsuko were the only pair who hadn't successfully completed one stunt.

"Have some patience Atsuko," the coach said, coming over. "Niranjana, Min-Yee, can you demonstrate the chair sit for me?" she asked.

Niranjana came jogging over from where she was helping to correct Ryuu's stance and swung her arms back and forth to loosen them quickly. Min-Yee turned and grabbed onto Niranjana's wrists, before getting popped up into a chair sit. She held her arms in a high V before Niranjana put her back down. "Did you see how she stabilized Min-Yee once she was up?" coach asked Sasuke, who nodded. It wasn't really the idea he wasn't getting. It was more applying the theory and trying to keep his mind on the stunt, instead of wandering and ending up on Sakura.

"Do it again," the coach said, taking a few steps back. Atsuko braced one leg on Sasuke's knee, holding onto his wrists, before he popped her up into the chair sit. He could feel the stunt start to fall apart again, and so he tried to stabilize himself before she fell. Atsuko wobbled, her face tight, before finally holding, and throwing her hands up into a high V. Min-Yee nodded, and Sasuke smiled slightly, glad that it finally worked. "Alright, good job you too," the coach said, nodding.

Sasuke brought Atsuko down and she landed with slightly bent knees, before straightening, giving one of her patented cheerleader smiles. She turned to Sasuke. "Good job," she said, sounding grateful that she wouldn't have to fall anymore.

"You too," Sasuke said. "Ready to try it again?" Atsuko nodded and he popped her up into another successful chair sit. And another. And another. The just worked on chair sits for the next thirty minutes at least. After a dozen or so Atsuko made a face. "My tailbone hurts," she mumbled, looking chagrined. Sasuke nodded. His arm and shoulder muscles were definitely feeling it as well. They got ready to try the chair sit one more time when the coach walked into the center of the room.

"Okay!" she called. All of the cheerleaders stopped what they were doing, either dismounting from stunts, or just stopping preparations, to turn their attention towards her. "Everyone looks like they're making great improvements. Now I want to have you try some cupies. Niranjana, Min-Yee, and Ino will demonstrate this one. Ino, can you act as the spotter?" the coach asked.

Ino nodded as she and the other two walked into the center of the mat. "Sure thing, coach," she said. Min-Yee stood in front of Niranjana, who held onto her waist, with Ino standing behind Niranjana. Niranjana braced herself before sinking lower and then throwing Min-Yee up into a cupie that she caught by Min-Yee's feet, Ino holding onto Min-Yee's ankles to stabilize her.

"This is how you do a cupie," the coach said, motioning to the three. "Go ahead and cradle out." The coach turned back to the others. "I want each partner and two spotters to come up here and try. Then we'll see if we can't get you guys to work on them some more. Let's start with… Ryuu and Ino. Tenten and Echiko, you two spot," the coach said.

Niranjana and Min-Yee retreated from the mat as Tenten, Echiko, and Ryuu went to join Ino. "So, to do a cupie, you are going to hold onto your flyer's waist. Bend slightly at the knees and then pop up to throw lift her straight up and grab onto her feet, holding her feet at about your shoulder level. She'll jump when you lift her. Tenten, stand behind Ryuu. You are going to reach up and hold Ino's ankles once she's up. We're not going to try it with straight arms, Ryuu, until we can get this one down. Echiko, you stand by in case of emergency. Go ahead and try it!" the coach said, moving back to watch. The rest of the team kept their eyes glued on the quartet as Ino stood in front of Ryuu. He grabbed her waist.

"On the count of three," Ino said. "One, two, three!" They bobbed down slightly and he threw her up, Ino jumping as he threw her to get more air. He grabbed her feet and Tenten's hands were immediately on her ankles. She threw her arms into a high V, but suddenly Ryuu stumbled and she felt herself start to fall backwards. Tenten and Ryuu let go of her, and Echiko moved forwards to grab her, but Tenten already had her.

Tenten grunted a little as she caught Ino, but other than sinking slightly at the knees so she wouldn't overextend them she didn't give way or falter. She deposited Ino on her feet. "Nice catch," Echiko said, looking surprised. "You're a soccer player right? I didn't think soccer players had such great upper body strength."

"Yeah, we lift weights. And I do karate," Tenten explained as the coach stepped forwards.

"Alright," the coach started. "So, that's what happens when the base doesn't get a proper hold during the stunt. And that exactly demonstrates what the bases are for. Let's try it again and see if you can get it, before we move on to the next pair." Ino nodded and moved back in front of Ryuu, who looked a little shaken up.

Ino shook her head. "Don't freak out. It'll only make you falter in the stunts," she said. "Ready?"

"Yeah," Ryuu said, taking a hold of her waist again.

"One, two, three!" Again he threw her up and she jumped. He grabbed her feet, Tenten grabbing her ankles, and Ino tried to keep her balance even as Ryuu worked to maintain a grip on the stunt. They wobbled around, Ino feeling her weight start to shift to the right as Ryuu struggled. "Oop!" she exclaimed as she felt herself start to fall sideways and she jumped slightly, landing on the balls of her feet instead of having to be caught.

Ino shook her legs out. "Sorry!" Ryuu said.

"It'll take practice," the coach said. "Let's have the next pair. Sai and Masaki!"

Masaki strode into the center of the mat, her bleached hair practically glowing under the lights. Sai followed and stood behind her. Tenten and Echiko took their places. "Do you need me to explain the stunt again?" the coach asked. Sai shook his head. "Alright, whenever you're ready."

"One," Masaki said. "Two. Three." Sai lifted her into the cupie and gripped her feet firmly, Tenten holding onto her ankles. Instead of stumbling like Ryuu had, Sai seemed to have the balance down, and Masaki did a low V with her arms and the two held the pose for a few seconds.

"Very good!" the coach said. "Dismount."

Masaki dropped down, Sai helping to catch her. "Thank you," Masaki said, nodding to him. Ino almost laughed. Masaki was as cold as Sai was expressionless. They made a very amusing pair.

Nia and Alonzo also went, followed by Maybe and Keigo. The coach checked the time. "Ah, time for the workout. Good thing, Sasuke and Atsuko, I want you two to work on chair sits more before you try this. Sorry, but you two need to work on your balance more, and cohesiveness," she said as the rest of the team got ready for the workout. Sasuke nodded and Atsuko's face turned bright red.

"Are you kidding me?" she muttered under her breath, sounding furious. Sasuke glanced sideways at her. She looked livid. He sighed slightly. He imagined Atsuko would have preferred a more skilled partner.

"Ino'll be running the workout today," the coach said. Ino nodded and walked into the center of the room, her ponytail swishing.

She glanced down at the clipboard. "Today… we get the weight room," she said. "Follow me," she said, leading them out of the gym and down into the weight room. It was frequently used by the other sports team, but they got a couple sessions a week in it. "So, I'm going to write the circuit down on the whiteboard and then we can start," she said. She copied the workout down from her clipboard, and turned back to face the team.

"Let's get going."

Elsewhere

Temari was sitting on her bed, going over her pre-calc for her exam, and rubbing her temples. She felt a migraine coming on the longer she worked, and she was only able to force herself through three more problems before she shoved the book back. She still had one and a half sets of problems to do to prepare but if she had to go through one more math problem, she swore she'd scream. She curled up on one side, grabbing the worn out teddy bear off her bedside table and squeezing it in her arms, her mind going back to her conundrum of her photo shoot. Time flies, and she was starting to panic. She had absolutely no idea of what to do, and she needed one fast.

_Of all the times to get photographers block…_ she thought, punching her pillow into a better shape before laying her head back onto it. She frowned and wiggled around, trying to get more comfortable. She wiggled again, kicking the pre-calculus textbook off her bed, causing her toe to protest from the pain. She winced and sat up, sliding off the bed and picking up the book. She tossed it onto the comforter and went over to sit at her laptop, firing it up.

She hummed to herself, opening up her email. She didn't have the focus for anything, but fiddling around on the internet didn't take a lot of focus. She began going through her new emails, clicking through a couple emails from colleges, one library hold notice, and one _Runner's World _newsletter. There was an interesting article about cross training that she opened and then paused. The picture at the top was overly done up, very magazine, but of a person lifting weights in a very dingy looking room. _The lighting looks horrible…_ Temari thought, sounding amused.

Then she paused. "Oh boy," she breathed. Inspiration. She grabbed her camera bag, set it on the desk beside her just for comfort, and opened a new tab with Google search. Time to do some research.

Elsewhere

Sakura sat in her window seat, studying, the side of her head pressing against the glass. Ino still wasn't talking to her, Sasuke hadn't tried to talk to her since the lunch the day before, her other friends either nervously avoided her (Hinata) or threw her sympathetic looks (Tenten and Temari). She hadn't had a real conversation in days, she had just done her homework, gone to the soup kitchen to work, and gone to her science club meetings. The last one had been that afternoon, and marked the end of Sakura's stint in the science club.

She sighed and reshuffled her flash cards, staring out into the dark as she did. It was pitch black and freezing outside. "Almost Christmas…" she murmured to herself under her breath. She already had bought all of her presents, and they were kept under her bed so no one would stumble across them in her room. Ino's present was sitting there also, though Sakura didn't know if she would end up giving it to Ino, whether or not they would even be speaking by the time Christmas rolled around.

"Hey sis."

Sakura looked up from her now impeccably shuffled flash cards. "Hey Okako," she said, smiling slightly. Okako leaned against her open doorway.

"So…" he started. "You're heading off to London for a while," he said.

Sakura nodded. "Six months. At least," she added as an afterthought. She looked down. "It really sucks."

Okako sighed. "Yeah…" he said.

"Just as I started fitting in and making more friends and all this great stuff started to happen… we move. And I get to be the weird nerdy new girl again who liked studying nuclear chemistry and math and who is too shy to make friends," Sakura said, looking up at him dully.

"Yeah… you really are a nerd aren't you?" Okako asked, smirking. "I remember. God, you were so awkward your freshman year." Sakura snorted.

"Just because you made, like, fifty friends in your first week of high school didn't mean I had too," she said, chuckling slightly.

Okako grinned. "Yeah, I was pretty awesome wasn't I? You know, I'm thinking of rushing a fraternity in Spring."

Sakura shook her head. "To round out the whole stereotype?" she asked, grinning back.

"Totally," he said, walking away down the hall. "I'm getting food. Want some toast?" he called.

"Yeah. With a lot of butter!" she yelled back. She looked back down at her flashcards and ran through them again before Okako came back. He handed her a glass plate with two pieces of toast, slathered in butter.

"You're gonna get fat if you eat that much butter all the time," he said, wandering down the hall to go watch T.V.

"I don't care," she muttered, sinking her teeth into the bread.


	42. Angry, Arguing Time

**I do not own Naruto**

"Uh… do you guys want me to leave?"

Okako looked between Sakura and Ino, both standing ten feet apart with their arms crossed over their chests, Sakura glaring at Ino, who stared mulishly right back. He took a bite out of the sandwich he was holding, chewing slowly as he watched them, an expression on his face like that of a person watching an old west showdown. They had been standing there like that for over a minute and a half.

"What do you want me to say Ino?" Sakura finally asked, ignoring Okako.

Ino rolled her eyes. "God, you sound like my ex-boyfriend," she said, sneering. "I came to get the CD I lent you. You're the one that turned it into a stare down."

Sakura tapped her fingers against her arms irately. "Whatever. I'll go get it." She turned around and stomped upstairs. Okako watched Ino with a concerned expression, still eating his sandwich. She glanced over at him, raising a well plucked eyebrow. Sakura came back down, clutching a CD in her hand and thrusting it at Ino. "Here," she said dully.

Ino plucked it from her outstretched hand and threw Sakura a look as she turned to go. Sakura sucked in her cheeks and her eyes practically bugged out of her head. "Oh my GOD Ino, will you friggen get over yourself?" she exclaimed, her hands balling into fists. Okako backed up, though he wasn't exactly able to look away. It was like watching a car wreck.

Ino turned towards Sakura. "What?" she asked, looking disgusted.

"You're acting like you're the victim Ino! You're not the goddamn victim! For the love of god could you get over yourself? I am so sick of you treating me like the bad guy!" Sakura yelled.

Ino stood by the door, looking speechless. "I…" she started, looking back and forth between Sakura and Okako, her face getting red and splotchy. Finally she wrenched the door open and rushed outside, slamming it shut. Sakura groaned and went running upstairs, slamming her room door loudly behind her. Okako took another bite of his sandwich, and went slinking back into the living room. In his eyes Ino was being a brat and Sakura was being kind of a coward.

He dropped down onto the couch and flicked the TV on as he pulled his flashcards on. He still had his calculus final to study for the next day, and there was nothing like reality TV when you were trying to concentrate on studying.

The Next Day

Tenten was sitting in the library after school. The last day of midterms was the next day and there was no practice to give them an extra day to study. She only had her AP physics and nutrition exams left, the latter of which was kind of a joke, but she was dreading physics. She had good grades and all, but she wasn't great at testing, so she was going over her flashcards and notes, trying to memorize the laws and formulas she'd need the next day.

She was actually studying with Hinata, seeing as they both had AP physics, but Hinata had been acting weird all week. Now she sat across from Tenten, staring down at her textbook, occasionally casting furtive glances up at Tenten. It would be a massive understatement to say that it was distracting. Tenten finally, after accidentally reading the same paragraph three times, looked up and her with an annoyed expression. "Hinata, what is it?" she asked, resting her cheek on one hand.

Hinata bounced her pencil on the table nervously, not quite making eye contact with her. Tenten narrowed her eyes. "Hinata…"

"Oh, I was just wondering," Hinata started, trying to sound casual but her voice just came out shaky, "um, how the party went? Meet anyone nice?"

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "That's all? Uh… I left after maybe ten minutes and a guy spilled punch on my head."

Hinata furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

"What?" Tenten asked, sitting up, looking confused.

"But… I thought…" Hinata started.

Tenten frowned. "Hinata…" she started warningly. "What did you think?"

"Um," Hinata said, her cheeks flushing as red as a lobster. "Someone said they saw you making out with some guy and I thought maybe you had gotten a little… drunk again." Tenten's eyes widened and Hinata hurried on. "Sorry! I don't know why but I thought that maybe you were drinking or something and making out with random guys and soon you'd be getting a tattoo and joining a gang and in ten years you'd be running the yakuza!"

Tenten started laughing so hard she literally needed to stuff her fist in her mouth so the librarian wouldn't shush her. "Oh my god!" she whispered, tears streaming down her face as she giggled like mad. "Are you serious? God Hinata you get so weird around exams. And how'd you know I had a tattoo?" she asked, looking confused again.

"What?" Hinata asked.

Tenten grinned and scooted her chair back, glancing around to make sure there wasn't a teacher around, and rolling up the side of her shirt. "Look," she said, turning to show her the raccoon she had tattooed on her right hip. Hinata's eyes widened again and Tenten snickered, sitting back down. "Isn't it cool? Best not to tell anyone though," she said, chuckling. "I don't want to get suspended or anything," she said, pulling the book towards her.

"And don't worry about me joining a gang! Jeez, tattoos don't mean someone's a gang member," she said, shaking her head as she started to study again. Hinata looked back at her book as well, feeling pretty stupid.

"Sorry, Tenten…" Hinata said quietly.

Tenten giggled. "Don't worry, it was hilarious. Just relax, yeah?"

"Yeah… relax…" Hinata said, making a mark in her notebook. She hadn't felt relaxed since the uncomfortable conversation with her high school counselor. She just had to get done with exams, and then she could concentrate on her life plan. Easy as pie.

That Night

"It's too damn cold!"

"Nina, you're so whiney!"

Tenten giggled and bounced the soccer ball between one and another knees. "Come on Nina, give it a kick," she said, bouncing the ball to her.

Nina grinned and flipped her hair back so it was out of her face, before meeting the ball and sending it flying into the goal. Melissa was playing half-assed goalie, and sitting in the middle of the goal and occasionally reaching out to try and stop the ball. "Whoo! Score for Konoha!" Nina yelled, raising her arms over her head.

Cecilia chuckled from where she was flopped over on the ground, and Hoshi ran over to intercept the ball as Melissa tossed it over. Hoshi started to dribble the ball and Carrie jumped up from the ground and they started to kick the ball back and forth. Tenten flopped down on the ground and grabbed one of their thermos' of hot chocolate and pouring herself a bit.

The girl's soccer team had decided to meet up for a little post-season celebration on the soccer field to kick goals and drink cocoa. They were hanging around chatting and sipping and bouncing around the ball. "Oh, yeah, Mel, how'd it go with you and Kenji?" Tenten asked, leaning back as she took a sip.

Melissa made a face. "Like crap. We broke up."

"Again?!" exclaimed Lakshmi as she lounged next to Tenten and took a sip from the thermos. "Isn't that the third time?"

"Third and last," Melissa said, straightening a little to reach for the ball. It flew over her head and she leaned back on one arm. "It'll be nice to not have to worry about boys during Christmas though."

"Oh shit! I still have to go Christmas shopping!" Nina said.

Cecilia and Amy giggled as Nina grabbed her phone and started writing herself an email as a reminder. Melissa shook her head. "What about you Tenten? Met anyone?"

Tenten sighed. "Nope. Single still…" she said, trailing off wistfully.

"So is it totally off then, you and Neji?" Cecilia asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. It's been off for like, six weeks or something. I haven't really met anyone good yet though. I thought there was this guy at the mall, but I think he was some kind of felon or something so I ditched him," she said.

Lakshmi snorted. "Good instinct you got there."

"Well that's just it, innit?" Cecilia asked. "You got to find someone to take your mind off your serial singleness. That's what I always do."

"What do you mean, 'that's what I always do'?" asked Hoshi, walking over to them from the goal. "You are Ryuu have been together forever!"

Cecilia brushed her hair over one shoulder. "Well, that's what I used to do, and it worked out pretty well, yeah? He keeps talking about the cheerleading team so much now, though, and I really don't care that much 'bout cheerleading," she said, making a face. "You're doing that for winter, aren't you Tenten? How is it?"

Tenten sighed. "It's meh," she said. "I miss kicking around with you guys," she said.

"Aww," Lakshmi said, reaching an arm around her shoulders to hug her.

Melissa stood and grabbed the cane lying next to her as she went hobbling over. She was using the cane now that her foot had its cast, though it was supposed to be fully healed by February. "You're making me all nostalgic, Tenten," she said with a grin. "But I gotta go. I still have to finish studying for my finals tomorrow. You guys going to that party tomorrow night?"

"Oh, yeah, totally," said Amy, the other girls nodding in their agreement.

"Awesome," Melissa said.

"Mel, you goin' up towards 50th?" Tenten asked.

Melissa nodded. "Yeah, need a ride?"

"That would rock," Tenten said, standing and tossing the thermos to Cecilia. "Thanks. See you guys tomorrow!" she said, waving as she and Melissa walked over to the parking lot.

"We're so sad, all single and alone at Christmas," Melissa joked. Tenten chuckled.

"One less person to get presents for, yeah?" she asked and Melissa grinned, nodding. Tenten stretched as they reached the parking lot. Melissa's car was right by the exit, and as they were about to get in a white convertible went streaking down the road by them, turning quickly, and rather dangerously, down a side road. They heard it go shrieking away, the sound reverberating through the quiet.

They paused. Finally Melissa spoke. "Wasn't that Ino?"

Meanwhile

Ino swore loudly as she almost took the sideview mirror off a pickup. She was driving much too quickly for a residential street, or even for the main road, and after almost sideswiping a sedan she realized slowing down might be a good idea. She reluctantly eased up on the accelerator, dropping her speed down to a more acceptable level as her car snaked through the dark streets, still fuming. She was a picture of disheveled anger, clad in basketball shorts and a sweatshirt, her long blond hair pulled up in a ponytail, and a furious expression on her face.

She went right on by her house, her gaze glued straight in front of her as her car turned onto the next avenue. She reached down and switched on the radio, her eyes still on the road, both hands firmly grasping the steering wheel. She wasn't precisely sure why, but she found herself turning onto the highway heading north which, blissfully, didn't have heavy traffic that night.

Sakura was telling her to get over herself? Jesus Christ! "Can you believe that mom?" she asked, looking up momentarily out of habit. She pursed her lips, sighing, her attention back on the road. The whole Sakura deal had put her on edge, but a whole array of crap had converged in the past 24 hours, not just Sakura. No, the cause of this particular freak out was the fact that she might be failing Algebra II. Not to be a stereotypical blonde cheerleader. Ino liked the social sciences and humanities and everything, but math was not easy for her, and according to the school, she had a solid 48 percent for the school year so far, which put her in the solid F range of grades, something her dad was likely to freak about.

She figured her dad probably wanted a more tomboyish girl who studied harder and spent less time reading Allure magazine, which could be a bit of a self-esteem blow sometimes.

_Stupid thing to be mad about…_ she thought moodily. She focused in on the road, listening to the music and trying to relax. She would be in a lot of trouble when her dad found out anyway, no need to freak out early. It kind of sucked that she was failing in her junior year, which, according to every high school counselor ever, was possibly the year colleges took into account the most seriously.

"Ughhh!" she groaned wrinkling her nose. A sign caught her eye to the side and she glanced over as it was illuminated by her headlights. "Now Entering Tanzaku County". She frowned, looking back on the highway. Tanzaku was _not_ a short distance. She looked down at the clock and it showed that she had been driving for over an hour.

"Shit."


	43. Convenient Trouble

"Seriously?"

Okako groaned, letting his head flop back. "Man… I knew this was going to happen," he muttered.

The girl sitting across the desk from him watched him with a bored expression. "Would it help if I told you it wasn't entirely my fault…?" he asked, leaning forwards slightly. She pursed her lips.

"You are considered legally responsible, considering the lease conditions you signed and the fact that the initial violation was your fault, a fact you didn't contest," she said, sounding unenthusiastic, much like she was reading from a script. "So, unfortunately, we must reject your application for a room renewal. We would like to request that you do not consider reapplying for a reasonable period of time."

"What's a reasonable period of time?" he asked.

"Generally, two to four quarters, depending on the level of the violation. In your case…" she said, glancing down at the sheet of paper on the desk in front of her. "I'd say not until next fall quarter at the earliest." She looked back up at him. "Consider yourself lucky. If the explosion had caused damage to anything out of your room chances are you would have been expelled from the hall permanently."

He leaned over, holding his head in his right hand, his elbow resting on his knee. "Dammit."

The girl sighed a little pointedly. "Is that all sir?" she asked.

He looked back up at her, a little annoyed. "Yeah, fine," he said, standing and grabbing his jacket.

"Have a nice day," she said, turning to her computer screen and starting to type.

He shuffled out of her office and through the student services office. He walked out of the building and started across campus, towards where he parked his car. It was just bad luck, the whole explosion, and now he didn't have anywhere to live. No way he could afford an apartment. He went home enough as it is for meals, seeing as he barely had any money for food other then freeze-dried meals and instant noodles. "Ugh!" he groaned, causing a couple girls walking past to glance over at him curiously. "This sucksss…" he mumbled to himself, reaching his car and unlocking it.

"I wonder if I go home… if I'd have to pay rent…"

Meanwhile…

Sakura pushed her pencil away and picked up her physics exam, standing and carrying it up to the teacher's desk. A couple people glanced up from their own exams momentarily as she walked past and set it down on the small pile of already completed finals. "Thank you," the teacher said with a nod.

"Thanks…" she said quietly, walking back to her seat. She put her pencil in her purse and grabbed her coat, walking quietly out of the classroom. She was one of the first to get done with her exam, which was the last of the day for her. Tenten looked up at her as she walked out and Sakura glanced back at her before letting the door close behind her. She started down the deserted hallway as she pulled her coat on, juggling her purse from one arm to another. She tied it closed, walking out into the cold afternoon, bracing herself for the sudden gust of freezing wind. She walked down the front way, towards the bus, before a car pulled up in front of her.

"Hey Sakura, want a ride home?" Okako asked.

She nodded, squinting into the wind as she tossed her bag into the backseat and climbed into the passenger seat. "Thanks," she said, shivering slightly as she closed the door. "You done with finals already?" she asked.

"I was done yesterday," Okako said, driving down the road towards their house.

"Cool," Sakura said, leaning back in the seat. "Why do you sound all depressed?" she asked, making a face at him.

He sighed. "I got kicked out of my dorm," he said, grimacing.

Sakura snorted. "Wow… really? What are you going to do then?"

"Hope mom and dad haven't rented the house out yet," he said, looking nervous.

"I don't think they have," she said. "You want to stay there?"

"Yeahhh…" Okako said. "I kind of… am broke… so I pretty much need to stay there or else I'll be homeless." He glanced over at her sheepishly.

She stared at him blankly. "How are you broke?" she finally asked.

"Long story. Hey, that's a cool car!" he said, pointing out of the window towards nothing in particular.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said, as they pulled up at their house. "Mom and dad are home early today to get ready for the move…" she said, sighing slightly. "I guess I should start packing also."

"Hey, why do you not want to go so badly? I bet a lot of people would love to move to London," he said as he turned the car off and climbed out.

"London would be exciting, but I don't want to have to leave my friends halfway through the school year, go somewhere new, and know that if I even manage to make any friends I'll have to leave them in six months. It sounds lonely," Sakura said, reaching back to grab her purse and slamming the car door shut behind her. "I have enough going on without having to go through an emotional "event" like that, let alone two."

"Oh… yeah, that does sound pretty crappy," he said, opening the door to the house.

"Sakura, is that you?" her mother called from the kitchen.

Sakura kicked her shoes off. "Yeah. Okako's here too!" she shouted back.

Her mom poked her head out of the kitchen. "Okako? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Heyyy mom," he said, laughing a little nervously as he walked over to give her a hug.

Their dad also walked out of the kitchen. "What did you do, Okako?" he asked, upon hearing the nervous tone of Okako's voice.

Their mom pulled back, raising an eyebrow. Okako sighed. "Yeah… about that… I sort of, um, can't go back to the dorm next quarter."

"What? Why?" their dad asked.

"Haha!" Okako said. "It's actually a really funny story! Also a long one, so let's just say there was an… accident… and I caused a little bit of damage to the room."

"How much damage?" Their mom asked warily.

Okako coughed. "Enough to get me banned from applying for the rest of the school year," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Their mom started laughing as their dad swore. "Are you serious? Really Okako, really?" she asked.

Sakura walked past them into the kitchen as their dad started to berate Okako. She rustled around in the fridge until she pulled out a cheese stick and started eating it, sitting down on a stool at the island in the middle of the kitchen. She heard their conversation grow slightly quieter as they walked into the living room, until she couldn't hear them anymore. She leaned forwards, chewing on the cheese and pulling a magazine towards her so she could flip through it.

There was an interesting article about compact hiking equipment, an activity Sakura liked to do, so it was nice to read about some more lightweight options. Good to know she didn't have to break her back every time she went climbing around the nearby mountains with her family. Or whatever mountains there are around mountains, she corrected herself. She hadn't noticed when the hushed buzz of conversation stopped, but she did notice when Okako and her parents appeared in the doorway.

"Yeah?" she asked, looking up and eating the last bite of her cheese.

"Sakura…" her mom started. "We've been talking, and… and Okako has an idea you may be interested in."

Sakura cupped her chin in her hands, her elbows set firmly on the counter. "What is it?" she asked, raising her eyebrows slightly.

"Sooo," Okako started, "I'm going to be staying in the house due to my… um… living situation issues… and mom and dad and I were talking and I mentioned what you told me in the car." Sakura raised an eyebrow slightly.

"We love traveling with you Sakura," her mother said. "But not if there's going to be extra ramifications like the kind you're obviously anticipating. So, because Okako is going to be staying at the house, and is _technically_ a legal adult," she said, throwing a look at Okako, who cowered a little, "we thought you could stay here with him while we're in London."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "W-what?" she asked, in a small voice.

Sakura's dad nodded. "Imagine, getting to spend allll of that time with your beloved brother," he said, chuckling slightly.

Sakura stared at them. "Honey," Sakura's mom said, hugging her around the shoulders. "We know you've been working hard to try and put yourself out there a little more, and we'd hate to have to undermine that because of your dad's job. We'd miss you, but it's only for six months, and we'd be back before summer vacation."

"Thank you!" Sakura exclaimed, flinging her arms around her mom. Her mom laughed slightly. Sakura pulled back a little. "I'll definitely miss you guys though," she said, sounding uncertain.

"We'll miss you too Sakura."

That Night…

Ino bustled around, setting up for the party. People weren't going to be arriving for a little while, so she was getting out the food and drinks and everything. She took a swig of her own drink, leaning up against her kitchen counter and shaking her hair back behind her shoulders. She sighed, glancing around the kitchen to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

She heard a knock on the door and frowned. _'Its way too early for anyone to get here,'_ she thought, taking another sip of her drink, before going to answer it. "Yea-" she started, the words falling short as she saw who it was. Sakura was standing in her doorway, expressionless. "Sakura…?" Ino asked.

"So… I'm staying. I'm not going to London," Sakura said.

"You're not going to London?" Ino asked, blinking.

"I'm not going to London."


	44. A Total Relief

Temari stood at the post-office drop box, staring at it wide-eyed. She had just put her submission to the photography contest in and now she was starting to hyper-ventilate with nervousness. "Oh god… oh-god-oh-god-oh-god…" she whispered.

"Excuse me," an old lady said, trying to get around her to drop in her letter.

"S-sorry!" Temari gasped, moving out of the way and walking back to her car. She wasn't sure when she would find out if she had made it into the semi-finalists. If she had ended up making it into the top 25, there would be one last round where the 10 finishers would be picked. She had butterflies in her stomach already. Only 5 percent of the current 500 photographers would be chosen, and that number was scarily low to her.

She climbed into her jeep and shut the door, breathing heavily as she sat with both hands on the wheel, her eyes open wide. Finally she opened up the mirror above the windshield, staring into it. "Calm the %& # down!" she commanded, making a face that was supposed to be serious but ended up looking more terrified. She slammed the mirror up and started up the jeep. She supposed she should get home to change for Ino's party. She had finished up her finals today, thank god. No more school for three weeks.

She pulled up in front of her house and parked, not bothering to pull fully into driveway seeing as she'd be heading out soon anyways. It was pitch black outside as she god out of her car and walked into the house. She took the stairs two at the time, still full of nervous energy. She refreshed her makeup quickly, applied another coat of lip gloss, and went to change into something a little more party-appropriate.

She walked out of her room having exchanged her skinny jeans and t-shirt for a high-waisted mini-skirt with tights and a crop-top bustier. She grabbed a jacket from her closet and clomped downstairs, picking up her purse from where she had left it by the door. "Hey Temari, I'm coming with you," Kankuro said, coming downstairs and getting his own coat.

"Cool. You got a date or just trolling for girls again?" she asked with a grin.

He rolled his eyes. "Witty, Temari, so witty," he responded.

They heard a thud and looked up to see Gaara on the second floor landing. "Hey Gaara, you want to come?" Temari asked, grinning.

He sighed. "Sure," he said. "Nothing else to do."

A few minutes later they were all piled into the jeep and on their way to Ino's. It wasn't a long drive, so they pulled up in front after a few minutes and they all climbed out, heading up to the door. Temari could hear music thudding from inside the house, cutting through the dark night. They pushed their way into the house before splitting up, Temari on her way to go find Ino.

Temari heard a crash and looked up to see a girl standing at the top of the stairs with a crutch, apparently having just thrown her bag at a guy standing on the bottom. "Kenji! I told you to leave me alone!" she yelled, turning to storm down the hall. Temari spotted Tenten standing near the stairs, watching with a startled expression. "Hey Tenten!" Temari said, shouting slightly so she could be heard above the music.

"Hey Temari," Tenten responded, still watching where the girl had gone.

"What was up with that?" Temari asked, also looking up.

Tenten sighed. "Melissa and Kenji are at it… again. I swear to god it's like a soap opera with those two."

"Uh… does she need our help or anything?" Temari asked.

Tenten shook her head. "No, they'll be fine. I actually feel kind of bad for Kenji this time," Tenten said with a sigh, turning to walk towards the kitchen. Temari shook her head, following her. "Hey, have you seen Ino?" Tenten asked.

Temari shook her head, frowning slightly. "No… that's weird. It's not like her to not be playing hostess." She reached over to grab a chip. "We should probably go find her…" she said. They went upstairs. They heard Kenji and Melissa arguing in one of the guest bedrooms, so they ignored that one. Ino wasn't in her room, nor any of the other guest rooms. They did, however, end up stumbling across Hinata and Naruto making out in one. They both promptly sprang apart, Hinata's face burning bright red.

"Sorry!" Tenten said, as Temari giggled behind her. Tenten swallowed a smile. "Just… uh… go back to whatever you two were doing," she said, closing the door quietly.

Temari chuckled as they walked downstairs. "I feel like those two never really left the honeymoon phase in their relationship," she said.

"Yeah," Tenten said as they walked outside. It was freezing cold, but they figured that was the only place Ino could be if she wasn't inside. They walked down towards the private beach, avoiding the garden, where there were sure to be more couples taking advantage of the romantic, if frosty, winters night. "Wouldn't it be weird if Ino wasn't even here?" Tenten asked, making a face.

Temari raised an eyebrow. "Yeah… that would be really strange," she said.

They reached the beach and finally spotted Ino sitting on the sand along with someone else. "Who's that? Doesn't look like Sai," Temari whispered.

They hesitated, not sure if they should go back up to the house or not. However before they could decide Tenten slipped on the sand and fell with an audible "oof!". Ino glanced back at them, looking surprised.

"S-sorry!" Tenten said, clambering up.

The other figure looked back and they saw it was Sakura, who grinned at them. "Sakura?" Temari asked, a little confused. Ino and Sakura hadn't been getting along lately.

Ino jumped up, slipping slightly to land on her knees, but her expression didn't falter from enthusiastic at all. "Sakura's staying!" she said, her voice sounding a little stuffed up. She reached over to hug Sakura, who looked like she was being strangled a little by Ino's arms.

"You're staying?" Tenten asked, looking surprised. Then she grinned and went over to hug Sakura. "Ah! I'm so glad! Does this mean you and Ino will stop fighting now?" she asked.

Sakura and Ino glanced at each other. "We've reached an… understanding," Sakura said, causing Ino to giggle quietly.

Tenten and Temari exchanged looks. "I don't want to know…" Temari said, sitting down on the icy sand next to the other three. "But I'm glad you're staying. But, what are you going to do? Are you staying at your house by yourself? You can stay with me if you don't want to be alone," Temari offered.

Sakura shook her head. "It's okay. I'm staying with Okako. He's staying in the house until next fall quarter anyways, so it'll work out great," she said with a smile.

"Wow… you'll be almost completely on your own," said Tenten, her mouth opened in a small "o".

"Yup," Sakura said, absentmindedly playing with the hem of her tunic. "It'll be an adventure," she said with a grin. "And I'll get to go visit mom and dad in London a couple times."

Tenten grinned. "Sounds like it all worked out then!" she exclaimed. Then she paused, looking thoughtful. "Has anyone told Hinata?" she asked.

The four of them hesitated, before Sakura shook her head. "Uh… I don't think so…" she said, trailing off.

Temari snorted. "Yeah. Maybe someone should. She's been avoiding everyone like the plague."

Tenten nodded. "Hinata gets so weird when this sort of thing happens," she said, giggling a little. "I'll go let her know that she doesn't have to walk on eggshells anymore," she said, standing and brushing the sand off of herself.

"'Kay!" Ino said as Tenten went climbing back up the stairs towards the mansion. She took the long way around the garden again, and then pushed her way through the guests at the party so she could climb back upstairs. She paused outside the room where they had last seen Hinata, it dawning on her that maybe she didn't really want to see what was going on in there. She shook her head and turned to go back down the hallway. She'd tell Hinata later.

"Oh, hey Tenten," Kankuro said, trying to scoot past her.

"Hey Kankuro," she said with a smile. "How're you?"

He shrugged. "Fine. Glad school's done," he said.

She nodded. "I hear you…"

"You look cheerful," he commented.

She grinned a little wider. "Well, I just found out Sakura isn't moving and isn't fighting with Ino anymore, which means I can talk to them now without them complaining about one another anymore," she explained, leaning up against the wall.

"Ah, that's a good reason to be happy," Kankuro said, nodding sagely.

She rolled her eyes. "Ah, you're so wise!" she said, shaking her head. "How are you then? Still keeping tabs on other's love lives, or trying to cultivate your own this time."

He leered at her. "I'm _always _working on cultivating my love life," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

Tenten snorted. "So I can see. Well, good luck with all that," she said, stepping around him and heading downstairs. She didn't want to head back into the cold so soon, so she headed for the kitchen, but found herself getting herded into the den by the movement of the crowds in the main hall. She sighed, turning to sit on the couch, until she saw a couple sprawled over it making out.

Her face turned a little red and she stuttered an apology before shoving her way back out, closing the door behind her. She shook her head, pushing her way to the back door. Maybe it was cold outside, but at least she wouldn't be constantly walking in on people getting physical with each other.

Meanwhile…

"…but, I don't know if I should have gone with "b" instead of "a" because "a" was more conditional, though I don't think "b" applied to the situation as well. And then, of course, the next problem set was based off of the equation I figured in the previous one, so if it really was "b" then the next five problems I calculated incorrectly… do you think he'll give partial credit as long as the calculations were done correctly, just incorrectly applied?"

Hinata stared at Naruto, waiting for his answer. He sat next to her on the bed, a dumbfounded expression on his face. "Well?" she asked, fidgeting nervously.

"Maybe?" he answered. "Uh… does he normally?"

She nodded. "He does on quizzes and the midterms I think, but I don't know about the finals." She sighed. "I'm so nervous. I wish I could just get my results right now, instead of having to wait until next Wednesday," she said, shaking her head.

Naruto chuckled. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think your tutoring probably helped me to not fail my first quarter of algebra II," he said.

She smiled. "Oh, yay! You remembered to use the flashcards then?"

He nodded. "Yeah. They were really useful."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm glad I could help," she said.

They moved a little closer, and their conversation fell to pieces almost immediately. However, just a couple moments later they both sprang apart as, not for the first time that evening, the door swung open. Hinata and Naruto both looked over at the door and saw Neji, standing there looking rather uncomfortable. He cleared his throat.

"Sorry, didn't know there was anyone in here," he said, backing out of the room. Hinata caught a glimpse of a girl standing with him, right before the door swung shut. She looked over at Naruto, frowning slightly. "Who was that girl?" she asked, looking confused. He shrugged.

"No idea…"


End file.
